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

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

If you want to understand suffering, you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there.

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

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

Wisdom and compassion must be developed equally and harmoniously.

The heart of the path is quite simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are.

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.

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

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

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

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

Every sensation shares the same characteristic - arising, passing. Arising, passing. Learn to observe objectively.

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

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

Every moment of mindfulness is a step on the path to liberation. Each step is valuable, no matter how small.

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

The best way to solve a problem is to help someone else solve their problem.

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

True love is not for the faint-hearted.

The key to meditation is to recognize the nature of your mind rather than trying to change it.

Meditation is not just about sitting quietly, it's about transforming the mind.

The Buddha's teaching is a middle way between all extremes, between eternalism and annihilationism, between self-indulgence and self-torture.

Don't try to change the world. First, change yourself.

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.

Sensations are not your enemy. They are your teacher. Through observing them, you understand the truth of existence.

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

The path of practice requires both faith and wisdom, both devotion and understanding.

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

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

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

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

Moment after moment, completely devote yourself to listening to your inner voice.

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

True happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through cultivation of altruism, of love, of compassion.

The path to liberation is a gradual path of self-discipline, self-development, and self-transformation.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

The restraint of the senses is not a matter of suppression but of wise attention to our experience.

The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities.

You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger.

If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.

My religion is to live and die without regret.

The only thing that we truly have control over is our attitude toward experience.

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

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

There are many ways to meditate. But at the heart of them all is mindfulness.

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.

Even if you speak of 'understanding,' this understanding is not a matter of knowledge. It is what fills the entire body and mind.

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

Compassion is a verb.

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

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

It is under the greatest adversity that there exists the greatest potential for doing good, both for oneself and others.

Kindness is the solution to all of life's problems.

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.

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

Compassion is not something we develop. It arises naturally as we see the truth of what is.

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

Time passes unhindered. When we make ourselves better, we make the world better.