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

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

The door of your heart can only be opened from the inside.

The purpose of Buddhist practice is not to become a Buddhist but to awaken to the nature of reality.

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

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

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

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

Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one's own acts, done and undone.

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

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

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

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

The grass is greener where you water it.

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

The essence of Buddhism is not a belief system but a systematic investigation of our experience.

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

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.

Whatever we do, we should see ourselves. Reading books doesn't show us our defilements. Watch yourself. Watch your mind.

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

The mind is like a wild monkey, jumping here and there. But through meditation, we learn to see whatever arises in our mind with more spaciousness and clarity.

The purpose of a spiritual discipline is to give us a way to stop the war, not by our force of will, but through understanding and through letting go.

Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.

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.

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

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

The cave I live in is empty and so is my mind. I live simply and at ease.

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

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

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 moment you note a thought, it disappears. The noting mind keeps the hindrances away.

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

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

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

When we look directly at our thoughts, they dissolve like bubbles in water.

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

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

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

Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness.

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

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

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

Let go of what has passed. Let go of what may come. Let go of what is happening now. Don't try to figure anything out. Don't try to make anything happen. Relax, right now, and rest.

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

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.

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

The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.

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.

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

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

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

It is never too late to turn on the light.

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment.

The practice of patience guards us against losing our presence of mind.

The practice of mindfulness transforms the mind from a place of suffering into an instrument of enlightenment.

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

The practice of Zen is forgetting the self in the act of uniting with something.