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

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

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

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.

Each moment of mindfulness is a moment of purification.

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

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

Just know what is happening in your mind - not happy or sad about it, not attached. If you suffer, see it, know it, be empty.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

Smile, breathe, and go slowly.

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.

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

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

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.

Past thoughts are traceless, clear, and empty. Future thoughts are unborn and fresh. The present moment abides naturally and unconstructed.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Mindfulness is the key to transformation. It enables us to see our experience as it really is, free from distortion and bias.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When we get too caught up in the busyness of the world, we lose connection with one another – and ourselves.

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

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

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

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

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

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

When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.