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

Panic is a gateway to wisdom. When we learn to stay present with our panic, it becomes our teacher.

Don't be a bodhisatta; don't be an arahant; don't be anything at all. Being something makes you suffer.

Mindfulness means keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality.

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

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

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived, how well we have loved, how well we have learned to let go.

The only way to fail at meditation is to stop doing it.

Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good.

Through understanding emptiness, one does not become proud of one's virtues, just as one does not become proud of building a castle in the sky.

The path is not about perfecting ourselves, but about perfecting our love.

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

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.

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

The practice of meditation is not about achieving states of bliss but about seeing things as they really are.

Breathing in, there is only the present moment. Breathing out, it is a wonderful moment.

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

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.

Zen proposes its solution by directly appealing to facts of personal experience and not to book-knowledge.

The obstacle is the path.

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 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.

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

The Four Noble Truths are not merely theoretical propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our experience.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

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

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

We deal with our mind from morning until evening, and it can be our best friend or our worst enemy.

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

Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer evil with good. Conquer stinginess with giving. Conquer deceit with truth.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

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

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

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

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

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

Meditation is not an escape from reality but a way to understand reality as it truly is.

Sticking with uncertainty, getting the knack of relaxing in the midst of chaos, learning not to panic—this is the spiritual path.

Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.

The truth of suffering is not to be feared but to be understood through direct observation.

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

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

In meditation, we're not trying to get rid of thoughts but to recognize their true nature.

The development of wisdom does not occur in isolation but requires the cultivation of the entire Noble Eightfold Path.

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation.

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.

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

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

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

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

Buddhist practice is not to eliminate life's problems but to grow with them patiently and with compassion.