Anxiety and excitement are the same emotion. The only difference is our attitude toward the experience.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

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

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

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.

The practice of mindfulness leads naturally to concentration. Concentration leads naturally to wisdom.

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

Right practice is steady practice. Whether you feel lazy or diligent, just keep practicing.

Don't be afraid of the future. The future is good.

The everyday practice is simply to develop complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions.

The essence of meditation is not something complicated or exotic. It is simply taking a break from our habitual patterns.

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

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.

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.

Each of you is perfect the way you are... and you can use a little improvement.

When you note pain, you are not trying to make it go away. You are trying to understand its true nature.

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

Zen proposes its solution by directly appealing to facts of personal experience and not to book-knowledge.

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

Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime, unobtrusively.

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

Genuine happiness comes from having developed basic human qualities, such as attention, emotional balance, and generosity.

The cultivation of loving-kindness is the thread that runs through all Buddhist teachings.

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.

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

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

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.

Devotion is the head of meditation, as is often said. When you are inspired by some spiritual teacher, you can have a very strong connection with that person, and thereby the blessings can enter.

The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.

The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.

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

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

The goal of Buddhist practice is not to escape from the world but to transform our relationship with it.

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

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

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

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

Every step on the path must be with the understanding of anicca - impermanence. This is the essence of the teaching.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

The cave I live in is empty and so is my mind. I live simply and at ease.

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

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

The more you meditate, the more you understand yourself and the better friend you become to yourself.

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

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

Generosity generates its own enthusiasm. We don't have to force ourselves to be generous; we just need to start.

Our task is not to seek for love but to find all the barriers within ourselves that we have built against it.

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

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

The practice of meditation is like tuning an instrument. Too tight, and the strings break. Too loose, and they won't play.

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

Where there is great doubt, there is great awakening; small doubt, small awakening; no doubt, no awakening.

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

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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

Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with experience.

The mind is like a wild monkey, jumping here and there. But through meditation, we learn to see whatever arises in our mind with more spaciousness and clarity.

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