Awareness is always with us. We don't need to create it or achieve it - we just need to recognize what's already there.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

The difference between being caught in thoughts and being mindful of thoughts is like the difference between being in a movie and watching a movie.

The practice of mindfulness is simply to bring awareness to what we are doing, what we are saying, and what we are thinking.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Every day, think as you wake up, today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.

Each moment of mindfulness is a moment of purification.

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

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

Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

Observe the reality as it is, not as you wish it to be.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

The whole path of mindfulness is about letting go. We let go of our attachment to our views, our attachment to our opinions, our attachment to our ideas.

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

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

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

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

Every experience is an opportunity to practice awareness.

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.

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.

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.

Life is available only in the present moment.

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

Every time we become aware of a thought, as opposed to being lost in a thought, we experience that opening of the mind.

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

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