The signs of practice are not in extraordinary experiences but in extraordinary awareness of ordinary experiences.

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

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

When you listen to someone, you should give up all your preconceived ideas and your subjective opinions.

Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

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

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

The grass is greener where you water it.

The more you give, the more you have. That's the economics of kindness.

When we rest in awareness, we discover a peace that is always present, regardless of circumstances.

Mindfulness is attention to life, and life itself is sacred.

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

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

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

The supreme path is not to fabricate anything. The supreme meditation is not to be distracted.

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

There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind.

The snow lion stays in the mountains, and the snow lion's ways are the snow lion's ways.

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

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

We can learn the art of fierce compassion - redefining strength, deconstructing isolation and renewing a sense of community, practicing letting go of rigid us-vs.-them thinking.

When you see forms or hear sounds fully engaging body-and-mind, you intuit dharma intimately.

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.

Time passes unhindered. When we make ourselves better, we make the world better.

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

Sensations are not your enemy. They are your teacher. Through observing them, you understand the truth of existence.

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

Ethical conduct is not a constraint upon our freedom but a condition of our freedom.

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

Understanding at the intellectual level is not enough. There must be experience at the actual level.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be miserable, expect something in return.

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

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

As a flower that is lovely and beautiful, but is scentless, even so fruitless is the well-spoken word of one who does not practice it.

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 studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

The entire path is a path of self-responsibility. Nobody else can walk it for you.

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

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment.

Happiness is a skill that can be developed like playing an instrument or learning to read.

Our task is to learn to see clearly what is happening in each moment, rather than be lost in our reactions and judgments.

Panic is a gateway to wisdom. When we learn to stay present with our panic, it becomes our teacher.

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

The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?

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

The practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

The practice of mindfulness transforms the mind from a place of suffering into an instrument of enlightenment.

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.

Concentration is a cornerstone of mindfulness practice. Your mindfulness will only be as robust as your capacity to ground your attention in the present moment.

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.

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.

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.

Just observe whatever arises. Don't try to create anything, and don't reject anything.

Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.

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

Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced state of mind.

Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.