Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

The perfect moment is this one, not the one you're waiting for.

Each breath is a new beginning, a fresh opportunity to awaken.

Kindness is the solution to all of life's problems.

True peace comes not from controlling the world, but from letting go of control.

Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already.

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

The role of Zen is neither to stand above life nor to run away from it, but to face it with a spirit of determination.

The Noble Eightfold Path is a path of training: training in ethical conduct, training in mental discipline, and training in wisdom.

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

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

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

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

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.

The development of insight is gradual, but the realization of truth is sudden.

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.

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

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

Mindfulness is not just bare attention but wise attention that leads to understanding and insight.

Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness.

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

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

Don't expect or desire anything. Just keep noting whatever arises in the present moment.

Misery ceases to exist when we stop reacting to sensations.

As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion.

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

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

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

Better to have one moment of genuine meditation than to perform religious activities for a thousand years.

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

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

If you love someone, the greatest gift you can give them is your presence.

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.

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

The path is the goal. Every step of the journey is the journey.

It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.

Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else.

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

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

The grass is greener where you water it.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

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

Meditation is not about trying to change ourselves. Meditation is about being aware of what is.

The purpose of Buddhist practice is not to become a Buddhist but to awaken to the nature of reality.

If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

The practice is like peeling an onion. Layer after layer of delusion is removed through continuous mindfulness.

The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

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

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

Faith is not a commodity that you either have or don't have - it is an inner quality that unfolds as we learn to trust our own deepest experience.

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

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

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

May all beings be happy, be peaceful, be liberated.

Each moment of mindfulness is a moment of purification.

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.

A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.