The past is just a memory. The future is just a dream. Be here now.

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.

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

The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another.

Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.

Mindfulness is being aware of what is happening right now, without wishing it were different.

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.

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

Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.

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

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

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.

Time passes unhindered. When we make mistakes, we cannot turn the clock back and try again. All we can do is use the present well.

When you see forms or hear sounds fully engaging body-and-mind, you intuit dharma intimately.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

Our basic nature is pure awareness that simply cognizes experience. Everything else is temporary and adventitious.

The difference between misery and happiness depends on what we do with our attention.

When we rest in awareness, we discover a peace that is always present, regardless of circumstances.

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

The signs of practice are not in extraordinary experiences but in extraordinary awareness of ordinary experiences.

Just observe whatever arises. Don't try to create anything, and don't reject anything.

The five aggregates are not a theoretical model but a description of lived experience to be investigated through mindfulness.

Every sensation shares the same characteristic - arising, passing. Arising, passing. Learn to observe objectively.

When you note pain, you should not dwell on the thought, "I feel pain." Simply recognize the presence of pain.

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

Mindfulness is the key to the present moment. Without it we cannot see the world clearly, and we cannot make the wisest choices in our lives.

The awareness that you are here, right now, is the ultimate fact.

The color of the mountains is Buddha's body; the sound of running water is his great speech.

Each moment of mindfulness is a moment of purification.

Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay.

The practice of mindfulness leads naturally to concentration. Concentration leads naturally to wisdom.

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.

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

Moment after moment, completely devote yourself to listening to your inner voice.

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

When you note pain, you are not trying to make it go away. You are trying to understand its true nature.

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.

In the spring, hundreds of flowers; in autumn, a harvest moon; in the summer, a refreshing breeze; in winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you.

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.

The key to transformation is not to fight with our experience but to open to it with awareness.

The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.

The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows. There is nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Zen. I raise my hand; I take a book from the other side of the desk; I hear the boys playing ball outside my window; I see the clouds blown away beyond the neighboring wood: all these I do in Zen.

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

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

When you note effectively, there is no time for defilements to arise. The mind becomes pure through noting.

The practice of mindfulness is the practice of being alive in the present moment.

Each moment of clear seeing is a moment of freedom from the illusion of permanence, satisfaction, and self.

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

Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what's happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what's happening.

The quality of every moment depends on the state of our minds.

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

The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.

The Buddha's teachings are not about abandoning our lives but about bringing the fullness of our attention to our lives.

Mindfulness means keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality.

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.

Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with experience.

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

The practice is not about achieving special states but about seeing ordinary experience with extraordinary clarity.

Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom I am swallowing the whole universe with it and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space?

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