No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.

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

The only way to fail at meditation is to stop doing it.

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

The view is like a lion - it cannot be led around by anything else. Meditation is like an eagle - it cannot be distracted by anything else. Action is like a madman - it is free from accepting and rejecting.

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

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

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

The snow lion stays in the mountains, and the snow lion's ways are the snow lion's ways.

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

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.

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

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.

Try to be mindful and let things take their natural course. Then your mind will become still in any surroundings, like a clear forest pool.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.

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

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

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

The precious pot containing my riches becomes my teacher in the very moment it breaks.

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

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind.

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

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

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

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

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.

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

The Noble Eightfold Path is not a path of mere intellectual understanding but a path of practice, of inner transformation.

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.

Work out your own salvation. Do not depend on others.

True peace comes not from controlling the world, but from letting go of control.

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

Our emotions are like waves in the ocean. We can't stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

The way to change the world is to change your own mind.

The practice of mindfulness is simple: whatever you experience, you observe and note it.

The supreme path is not to fabricate anything. The supreme meditation is not to be distracted.

Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.

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.

Meditation is the ultimate mobile device; you can use it anywhere, anytime, unobtrusively.

Every small positive change we make in ourselves repays us in confidence in the future.

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

The practice of mindfulness begins in the small, remote cave of your unconscious mind and blossoms with the sunlight of your conscious life.

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

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

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

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

Meditation in the midst of activity is a thousand times superior to meditation in stillness.

Right View is not just a matter of intellectual understanding but of seeing things as they really are.

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

Hope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty. We can't simply relax with ourselves. We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment.

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

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

Short moments, many times. That is the essence of meditation practice.

Right practice is steady practice. Whether you feel lazy or diligent, just keep practicing.

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.

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

The essence of meditation is not something complicated or exotic. It is simply taking a break from our habitual patterns.