Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work.

Don't be afraid of the future. The future is good.

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

The first step toward faith is to admit that we don't know everything.

The most important thing in life is to know death is coming and to prepare for it.

If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.

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

Mindfulness is not just bare attention but wise attention that leads to understanding and insight.

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

Life is nothing but a continuous chain of sensations. Pleasant or unpleasant, observe them objectively.

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

The stages of insight unfold naturally when mindfulness is continuous. There is no need to desire them or try to make them happen.

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

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem.

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

The practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

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

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

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.

Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.

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

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

When you let go of trying to control everything, you can relax and enjoy life.

The highest mantra is to be without deception. The highest medicine is to have few desires. The highest meditation is not to be attached.

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

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

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

The dharma is not in the books. If you want to find the dharma, look in your mind.

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 law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

Maintain the state of undistractedness and distractions will fly away.

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.

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

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

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

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophical system but a practical guide to living.

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

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

The noting mind and the object noted appear to occur as a pair. Through concentration they are seen to arise and vanish together.

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

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

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

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

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

The treasure house within you contains everything, and you are free to use it. You don't need to seek outside.

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

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

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

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past could have been any different.

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

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

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

The goal of meditation is not to achieve a blank mind, but to gain insight into the nature of mind itself.