When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.

What you are is what you have been. What you'll be is what you do now.

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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

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.

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.

Should you desire the great tranquility, prepare to sweat white beads.

Meditation is not an escape from life but a way to fully engage with life.

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

When both body and mind are at peace, all things appear as they are: perfect, complete, lacking nothing.

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

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

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

The path to liberation requires both understanding and practice, both pariyatti and patipatti.

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

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

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

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

People who study a lot but don't practice are like a ladle in a soup pot. It's in the soup every day, but it doesn't know the taste of the soup.

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

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.

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

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

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

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

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

The three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

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

The practice of Zen mind is beginner's mind. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.

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.

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.

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.

The dharma wheel turns from the beginning. There is neither excess nor deficiency. The whole universe is moistened with nectar, and the truth is ready to harvest.

Instead of having a deep understanding of the teaching, we need a strong confidence in our teaching, which says that originally we have Buddha nature.

The source of love is deep in us and we can help others realize a lot of happiness. One word, one action, one thought can reduce another person's suffering and bring that person joy.

If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.

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

The obstacle is the path.

The whole path of mindfulness is about letting go. We let go of our attachment to our views, our attachment to our opinions, our attachment to our ideas.

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

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

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.

We need the courage to learn from our experience and the wisdom to be willing to change and grow.

Insight knowledge comes from direct experience, not from intellectual understanding.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

Meditation is not an escape from reality but a way to understand reality as it truly is.

We need to learn to let our emotions pass through us like waves, without getting caught in their undertow.

Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks.

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

Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation.