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

Better to have one moment of genuine meditation than to perform religious activities for a thousand years.

The perfect moment is this one, not the one you're waiting for.

Mind training is based on the idea that two opposite mental factors cannot happen at the same time.

Zen teaches nothing; it merely enables us to wake up and become aware. It does not teach, it points.

Just as parents care for their children, you should bear in mind the whole universe.

In true vipassana practice, there is no room for likes and dislikes. There is only observation.

Where is the place that your original face has not yet emerged?

Knowledge must be stabilized by meditation. Without meditation, knowledge is like a child in battle.

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

Compassion is a verb.

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

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

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

The force of the kindness of others is so strong, we can't possibly measure it.

The true path is not difficult; just avoid picking and choosing.

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

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

Wisdom is not about accumulating knowledge, but about seeing through all knowledge.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

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

Each decision we make, each action we take, is born out of an intention.

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

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

When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.

Meditation is not about stopping thoughts, but recognizing that we are not our thoughts.

It is never too late to turn on the light.

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

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

The more precisely you note, the more clearly you understand. The more clearly you understand, the stronger your insight becomes.

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows. There is nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Zen. I raise my hand; I take a book from the other side of the desk; I hear the boys playing ball outside my window; I see the clouds blown away beyond the neighboring wood: all these I do in Zen.

Work diligently. Diligently. Work patiently and persistently. Patiently and persistently. And you're bound to be successful. Bound to be successful.

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.

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.

Though the view should be as vast as the sky, keep your conduct as fine as barley flour.

Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with experience.

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.

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

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

The cultivation of loving-kindness is the thread that runs through all Buddhist teachings.

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

In the monastery of your body, the monk of your mind must stay in retreat.

Devotion is the head of meditation, as is often said. When you are inspired by some spiritual teacher, you can have a very strong connection with that person, and thereby the blessings can enter.

The purpose of meditation is not to create a mental vacuum but to come to know one's own mind.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The role of Zen is neither to stand above life nor to run away from it, but to face it with a spirit of determination.

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

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

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

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

The key to transformation is not to fight with our experience but to open to it with awareness.

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