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

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

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

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

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

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

The practice of mindfulness transforms the mind from a place of suffering into an instrument of enlightenment.

The object of meditation and the mind which knows it must be noted as they occur. If they are not noted, desire arises and disturbs concentration.

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

The signs of practice are not in extraordinary experiences but in extraordinary awareness of ordinary experiences.

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.

We can learn to be present with whatever is happening in our lives, and in this way, we can begin to transform our relationship to difficulty.

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

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

The only way to experience truth is to look within, to observe oneself.

The true mark of a spiritual practitioner is that your own behavior is better, not that you can criticize others well.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Each decision we make, each action we take, is born out of an intention.

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

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

Self-awareness is the key to freedom. The more we understand ourselves, the more we understand how to be free.

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

The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy. This is the goal of Buddhist practice.

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.

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

Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past could have been any different.

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

The practice of Dharma is a constant battle within oneself.

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

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

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

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

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.

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

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.

Whoever told you that practice and enlightenment are separate?

Our task is to learn to see clearly what is happening in each moment, rather than be lost in our reactions and judgments.

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

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

The practice of mindfulness begins in the small, remote cave of your unconscious mind and blossoms with the sunlight of your conscious life.

The path of practice moves from faith through understanding to direct realization.

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

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

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

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

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

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.

Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity than thinking.

The way to overcome anger is to be too busy being kind to have time to be angry.

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

Mindfulness is the key to transformation. It enables us to see our experience as it really is, free from distortion and bias.

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

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.

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