The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

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

The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities.

Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.

The moment you note a thought, it disappears. The noting mind keeps the hindrances away.

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.

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

The precious pot containing my riches becomes my teacher in the very moment it breaks.

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

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.

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

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

Knowledge must be stabilized by meditation. Without meditation, knowledge is like a child in battle.

The heart of the path is quite simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are.

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

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.

In true vipassana practice, there is no room for likes and dislikes. There is only observation.

The yogi's joy is in the solitude of mountains, where all distractions naturally dissolve into emptiness.

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

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.

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

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

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

The restraint of the senses is not a matter of suppression but of wise attention to our experience.

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

Every time we become aware of a thought, as opposed to being lost in a thought, we experience that opening of the mind.

The Buddha's path is not about becoming somebody different but about becoming more and more who you really are.

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

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

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

Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.

Ardently do today what must be done. Who knows? Tomorrow, death comes.

The basic idea of Zen is to come in touch with the inner workings of our being, and to do this in the most direct way possible, without resorting to anything external or superadded.

Liberation is not found by running away from our experience but by looking deeply into it.

In the moment of love, awareness is very strong. Use that awareness, that strength of consciousness, to look into yourself.

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

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

Zazen is not step-by-step meditation. Rather it is simply the easy and pleasant practice of a Buddha, the realization of the Buddha's Wisdom.

Just know what is happening in your mind - not happy or sad about it, not attached. If you suffer, see it, know it, be empty.

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

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

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.

Though the view should be as vast as the sky, keep your conduct as fine as barley flour.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

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

The dharma is not in the books. If you want to find the dharma, look in your mind.

The trick is to keep exploring and not bail out, even when we find out that something is not what we thought.

Be a lamp unto yourself. Work out your liberation with diligence.

In the monastery of your body, the monk of your mind must stay in retreat.

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

Every moment of confusion is also a moment of wisdom, if we can learn to recognize it.

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

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

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

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.

Compassion is not just about being kind to others. It's about being kind to ourselves as well.

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.

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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