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

The most profound meditation is to think nothing at all.

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

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

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

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.

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.

Work diligently. Diligently. Work patiently and persistently. Patiently and persistently. And you're bound to be successful. Bound to be successful.

The rising and falling of the abdomen is not the main object. The main object is to develop mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

True love is not for the faint-hearted.

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

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

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

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

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.

When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything.

The most important thing in life is to know death is coming and to prepare for it.

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

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

Technical knowledge is not enough. One must transcend techniques so that the art becomes an artless art, growing out of the unconscious.

Hasten slowly and you will soon arrive.

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.

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

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.

Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed, do not squander your life.

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

Meditation is not just about sitting quietly, it's about transforming the mind.

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.

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

When walking, just walk. When sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.

Every moment is a fresh beginning. Every breath is a new chance.

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

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

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.

The real purpose of Zen is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes.

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

The mind is like a room with many windows. Open them all and let the fresh air in.

Hope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty. We can't simply relax with ourselves. We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment.

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

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

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

The noting mind and the object noted appear to occur as a pair. Through concentration they are seen to arise and vanish together.

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.

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.

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

The treasure house within you contains everything, and you are free to use it. You don't need to seek outside.

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

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

The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem.

Mindfulness means keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality.

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

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

Maintain the state of undistractedness and distractions will fly away.

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.

My religion is to live and die without regret.

When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.

The only way to fail at meditation is to stop doing it.

The greatest obstacle to meditation is our expectation about what it should be.

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