Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.

Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

At the bottom of great doubt lies great awakening. If you doubt fully, you will awaken fully.

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

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

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

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

Metta is the ability to embrace all parts of ourselves, as well as all parts of the world.

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

The great gift of meditation is that it returns us to the simplicity of our own being.

Metta (loving-kindness) becomes truly effective only when it arises from a peaceful mind, a pure mind, a balanced mind.

It is never too late to turn on the light.

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.

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

Every thought, every word, and every action leaves an imprint on our mind.

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

In my youth I studied, in my prime I practiced, now all my doubts are cleared.

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

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

Our defilements are like tame tigers. If you feed them, they're tame. If you stop feeding them, they'll eat you up.

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

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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

Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.

If you want to understand suffering, you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there.

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

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

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.

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.

Each moment of noting is a moment of purification, a moment of cultivating the path.

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.

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

The four foundations of mindfulness are not separate practices but different aspects of the same practice of clear awareness.

Meditation is not about getting rid of thoughts; it's about changing the way we relate to them.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

Not by hatred is hatred conquered, but by love alone. This is an eternal law.

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

Every small positive change we make in ourselves repays us in confidence in the future.

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

Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.

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

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

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment.

The Buddha's teachings are not about abandoning our lives but about bringing the fullness of our attention to our lives.

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

The challenge in meditation is not to eliminate thinking but to understand the nature of thought itself.

The true 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 zazen I speak of is not meditation practice. It is simply the dharma gate of joyful ease.

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

The purpose of a spiritual discipline is to give us a way to stop the war, not by our force of will, but through understanding and through letting go.

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

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

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

Meditation in the midst of activity is a thousand times superior to meditation in stillness.