The trouble is, you think you have time.

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

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

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

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

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

When walking, just walk. When sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.

Genuine happiness comes from having developed basic human qualities, such as attention, emotional balance, and generosity.

Panic, anxiety, and stress are not obstacles to the practice. They are the path to wisdom and compassion.

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

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

Your mind is like a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.

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

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

Concentration and insight are like two wings of a bird: both are necessary for the flight to liberation.

The Buddha's teaching challenges us to master the art of living, to live in a way that leads to the extinction of suffering.

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

The law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

Misery ceases to exist when we stop reacting to sensations.

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

The more you meditate, the more you understand yourself and the better friend you become to yourself.

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

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

The rising and falling of the abdomen is not the main object. The main object is to develop mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

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

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

Mindfulness is the key to the present moment. Without it we cannot see the world clearly, and we cannot make the wisest choices in our lives.

The most important thing in life is to know death is coming and to prepare for it.

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

It is never too late to turn on the light.

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

External seeking only leads to exhaustion. When you imitate others, you lose your own authenticity.

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

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

If it isn't good, let it die. If it doesn't die, make it good.

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

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

Concentration is a cornerstone of mindfulness practice. Your mindfulness will only be as robust as your capacity to ground your attention in the present moment.

Anxiety and excitement are the same emotion. The only difference is our attitude toward the experience.

The art of living... is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past on the other. It consists in being sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.

This is the real secret of life -- to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.

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

The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconsciousness is realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the perfecting of his technical skill.

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

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

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

When we develop patience, we find that we develop a reserve of calm and tranquility.

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

The way to change the world is to change your own mind.

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

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

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

Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.

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

What you are is what you have been. What you'll be is what you do now.

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

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

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

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.