When you see forms or hear sounds fully engaging body-and-mind, you intuit dharma intimately.

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

The everyday practice is simply to develop complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions.

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

The way to overcome anger is to be too busy being kind to have time to be angry.

The true understanding is that the practice itself is enlightenment.

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

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

Observe the reality as it is, not as you wish it to be.

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

When you practice zazen you should not try to attain anything. You should just sit in the complete calmness of your mind and not rely on anything.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

The teaching is simple: act with kindness and compassion. If you cannot do this, at least try not to harm others.

Maintain the state of undistractedness and distractions will fly away.

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

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

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

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

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

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

Should you desire the great tranquility, prepare to sweat white beads.

When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.

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

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

The practice of mindfulness is simply to bring awareness to what we are doing, what we are saying, and what we are thinking.

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

Mindfulness is attention to life, and life itself is sacred.

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

Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look.

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

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

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

Compassion is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be miserable, expect something in return.

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.

Understanding at the intellectual level is not enough. There must be experience at the actual level.

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.

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.

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

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

Meditation is not about trying to change ourselves. Meditation is about being aware of what is.

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.

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

The Buddha's teachings are not about abandoning our lives but about bringing the fullness of our attention to our lives.

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

Anger or hatred is like a fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it.

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

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

True love is not for the faint-hearted.

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

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

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

Faith is the firm foundation, diligence the supporting pillar, and wisdom the roof of the house of practice.