The development of wisdom requires both study and practice, both learning and direct experience.

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

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

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

The practice of meditation requires both energy and patience, both effort and relaxation.

Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer evil with good. Conquer stinginess with giving. Conquer deceit with truth.

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.

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

The practice of Dharma is a constant battle within oneself.

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

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

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

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

Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity than thinking.

Ethical conduct is not a constraint upon our freedom but a condition of our freedom.

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

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.

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

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

The heart of one who practices is like the earth. No matter what they throw on it, the earth remains unchanged.

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

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

Mindfulness helps you go home to the present. And every time you go there and recognize a condition of happiness that you have, happiness comes.

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

Concentration develops naturally through continuous noting. Don't try to force concentration to arise.

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

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

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

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

Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.

The Buddha's teaching challenges us to master the art of living, to live in a way that leads to the extinction of suffering.

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

This is the real secret of life -- to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.

Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile.

There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind.

Face your own anger and you will be free from anger. Face your own fears and you will be free from fear.

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.

Meditation is the road to happiness.

Compassion is not just about being kind to others. It's about being kind to ourselves as well.

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

The great gift of meditation is that it returns us to the simplicity of our own being.

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

There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live.

The basic idea of Zen is to come in touch with the inner workings of our being, and to do this in the most direct way possible, without resorting to anything external or superadded.

Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed, do not squander your life.

The real purpose of Zen is to see things as they are, to observe things as they are, and to let everything go as it goes.

The grass is greener where you water it.

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

The path to liberation requires both individual effort and the support of the spiritual community.

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophy or a religion; it is a method of practice.

The Four Noble Truths are not mere doctrinal propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our lives.

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

The yogi's joy is in the solitude of mountains, where all distractions naturally dissolve into emptiness.

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

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

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.

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

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