Ardently do today what must be done. Who knows? Tomorrow, death comes.

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

Whatever we do, we should see ourselves. Reading books doesn't show us our defilements. Watch yourself. Watch your mind.

We can learn to be present with whatever is happening in our lives, and in this way, we can begin to transform our relationship to difficulty.

Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.

When we look directly at our thoughts, they dissolve like bubbles in water.

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 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.

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

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

Impermanence, suffering, and non-self are not philosophical concepts but realities to be directly perceived through mindfulness practice.

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

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

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

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

Mindfulness is being aware of what's going on, not trying to control what's going on.

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.

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.

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.

When mindfulness and concentration are strong, insight into the three characteristics naturally unfolds.

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

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

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

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

The only way to experience truth is to look within, to observe oneself.

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 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.

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

Through continuous mindfulness practice, the true nature of physical and mental phenomena becomes clear.

Mindfulness isn't difficult, we just need to remember to do it.

Be happy at the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.

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?

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

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.

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

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

Every moment of mindfulness is a step on the path to liberation. Each step is valuable, no matter how small.

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

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

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

When mindfulness becomes continuous, the distinction between the observer and the observed begins to break down.

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

The perfect moment is this one, not the one you're waiting for.

In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.

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

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

The four foundations of mindfulness are not separate practices but different aspects of the same practice of clear awareness.

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment.

Awareness is the basis, or what you might call the "support," of the mind. It is steady and unchanging, like the pole to which the flag of ordinary consciousness is attached.

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.

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

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

If you love someone, the greatest gift you can give them is your presence.

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.

The art of living... is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past on the other. It consists in being sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.

The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.

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.

What you are is what you have been. What you'll be is what you do now.

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

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