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

Meditation is not about achieving anything. It's about letting go of everything.

Don't expect or desire anything. Just keep noting whatever arises in the present moment.

Meditation is not about getting away from it all. It's about getting into it all.

When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick. Every time a stick is thrown, you run after it. Instead, be like a lion who, rather than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower.

Meditation is like catching a fish. If you try to catch it quickly, you'll miss it. If you have patience and know how to wait, the fish will come.

Meditation is the road to happiness.

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

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

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

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

The root of all mind is your own present pure awareness. Rest in that essence without seeking elsewhere.

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

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

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

Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.

The practice of meditation is like learning to play an instrument - it takes patience, regular practice, and a gentle touch.

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.

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

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

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.

Zazen is not step-by-step meditation. Rather it is simply the easy and pleasant practice of a Buddha, the realization of the Buddha's Wisdom.

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

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

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

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

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

Sleep is the best meditation.

Meditation is not about escaping from difficulty but about meeting it with awareness.

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

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

The most profound meditation is to think nothing at all.

The most important things in our practice are our physical posture and our way of breathing.

The goal of meditation is not to reach some highest place, but to remain in the place where you already are.

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

The practice of meditation is not about achieving states of bliss but about seeing things as they really are.

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

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

Maintain the state of undistractedness and distractions will fly away.

Concentration and insight are like two wings of a bird: both are necessary for the flight to liberation.

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

The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation.

The purpose of meditation is to make our mind calm and peaceful. If our mind is peaceful, we will be free from worries and mental discomfort.

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

Each breath is a new beginning, a fresh opportunity to awaken.

Leave your front door and your back door open. Allow your thoughts to come and go. Just don't serve them tea.

The purpose of meditation is not to create a new state of mind, but to recognize what is already present.

The practice of meditation is like tuning an instrument. Too tight, and the strings break. Too loose, and they won't play.

The state of mind that exists when you sit in the right posture is, itself, enlightenment.

When thoughts arise, recognize them as the display of your own awareness, like recognizing your own children in a crowd.

The greatest obstacle to meditation is our expectation about what it should be.

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

In the gap between thoughts, nonconceptual wisdom shines continuously.

There are many ways to meditate. But at the heart of them all is mindfulness.

The master's introduction is direct recognition of one's own nature. Meditation is maintaining the continuity of this recognition.

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

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

The object of meditation and the mind which knows it must be noted as they occur. If they are not noted, desire arises and disturbs concentration.

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