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

The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.

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

If you love someone, the greatest gift you can give them is your presence.

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

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

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.

There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

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

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

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

When mindfulness is weak, defilements are strong; when mindfulness is strong, defilements are weak.

The path is the goal. Every step of the journey is the journey.

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

The trouble is, you think you have time.

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

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.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

The superior person is like water, bringing benefit to all without competing.

The stages of insight unfold naturally when mindfulness is continuous. There is no need to desire them or try to make them happen.

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

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

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

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

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

Liberation is found in the practice, not in the theory.

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

If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

The goal of meditation is not to achieve a blank mind, but to gain insight into the nature of mind itself.

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

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

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

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

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

The development of insight is gradual, but the realization of truth is sudden.

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

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

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.

Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

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

Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.

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

The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

The Dhamma is not a collection of doctrinal formulas but a path leading to direct insight into the nature of reality.

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

Every moment of confusion is also a moment of wisdom, if we can learn to recognize it.

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

The practice of vipassana is the study of the self. When you study physical and mental phenomena, you are studying the truth about yourself.

As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion.

The entire path is a path of self-responsibility. Nobody else can walk it for you.

When we recognize that our thoughts are just thoughts, we can choose whether or not to follow them.

The essence of Buddhist practice is to reduce our selfishness and to work for the benefit of others.

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

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

Meditation practice isn't about trying to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already.

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

Instead of having a deep understanding of the teaching, we need a strong confidence in our teaching, which says that originally we have Buddha nature.