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

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

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 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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.

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

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

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?

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.

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

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

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

The past is for learning from, not for living in.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.