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

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.

As surely as there is a voyage away, there is a journey home.

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

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 need to learn to let our emotions pass through us like waves, without getting caught in their undertow.

The snow lion stays in the mountains, and the snow lion's ways are the snow lion's ways.

The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.

Meditation is not about trying to change your experience; it's about changing your relationship to your experience.

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.

The past is gone, the future is not yet here. Live in the present moment with awareness.

The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.

Try to be mindful and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool.

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

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.

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

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

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

People who study a lot but don't practice are like a ladle in a soup pot. It's in the soup every day, but it doesn't know the taste of the soup.

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced mind that sees things clearly without reaction.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking.

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

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

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

In meditation, we are continuously discovering who and what we are.

The way to change others' minds is with affection, and not anger.

When we look directly at our thoughts, they dissolve like bubbles in water.

The essence of Buddhist practice is to bring everything onto the path. Every experience becomes an opportunity for awakening.

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

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

The movement of love is what creates the beauty in our lives.

The most profound meditation is to think nothing at all.

In a mind clear as still water, even the waves, breaking, are reflecting its light.

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

The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.

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

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

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

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one's own acts, done and undone.

There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.

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

The Noble Eightfold Path is not a path of mere intellectual understanding but a path of practice, of inner transformation.

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

The first step toward faith is to admit that we don't know everything.

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

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

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

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

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

The technique of self-observation is the technique of observing the reality about oneself at the experiential level.

Karma is not fate but the law of moral causation, showing us that we are the architects of our own destiny.

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

Right practice is steady practice. Whether you feel lazy or diligent, just keep practicing.

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.

Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks.