The path is not about perfecting ourselves, but about perfecting our love.

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

Where is the place that your original face has not yet emerged?

The zazen I speak of is not meditation practice. It is simply the dharma gate of joyful ease.

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

Every sensation shares the same characteristic - arising, passing. Arising, passing. Learn to observe objectively.

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

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

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 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.

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

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

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

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

In the monastery of your body, the monk of your mind must stay in retreat.

The development of wisdom does not occur in isolation but requires the cultivation of the entire Noble Eightfold Path.

Self-awareness is the key to freedom. The more we understand ourselves, the more we understand how to be free.

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

Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.

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

The practice is simply this: keep coming back to your breath during the day. This will give your mind a steadiness and your life a balance.

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

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

Start from where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

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

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

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 Buddha's path is not about becoming somebody different but about becoming more and more who you really are.

The superior person is like water, bringing benefit to all without competing.

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

The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery.

Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.

Just know what is happening in your mind - not happy or sad about it, not attached. If you suffer, see it, know it, be empty.

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

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

The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something.

Sticking with uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic—this is the spiritual path.

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

The key to transformation is not to fight with our experience but to open to it with awareness.

Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile.

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

When you let go of trying to control everything, you can relax and enjoy life.

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

Faith is the firm foundation, diligence the supporting pillar, and wisdom the roof of the house of practice.

The way to change others' minds is with affection, and not anger.

The willingness to empty ourselves and then seek our true nature is an expression of great and courageous love.

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

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.

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

The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconsciousness is realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the perfecting of his technical skill.

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

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.

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

When we recognize that our thoughts are just thoughts, we can choose whether or not to follow them.

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

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

The practice of mindfulness is simple: whatever you experience, you observe and note it.

The force of the kindness of others is so strong, we can't possibly measure it.

Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.