The heart of one who practices is like the earth. No matter what they throw on it, the earth remains unchanged.

The menu is not the meal.

The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.

Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.

Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

Our defilements are like tame tigers. If you feed them, they're tame. If you stop feeding them, they'll eat you up.

The nature of mind is clearer than the sky, yet we keep looking elsewhere.

External phenomena are like a dream, whatever appears is not real. Recognize the nature of dream-like phenomena to be dream-like.

Suffering is not the end of the story; it is the middle of the story.

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

Genuine happiness comes from having developed basic human qualities, such as attention, emotional balance, and generosity.

Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one's own acts, done and undone.

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look into your present actions.

The realization of impermanence leads not to despair but to a deeper appreciation of the preciousness of each moment.

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

The truth of suffering is not to be feared but to be understood through direct observation.

If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

When you generate negativity, you are the first victim of your negativity.

The true path is not difficult; just avoid picking and choosing.

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.

The one who grasps at existence suffers in samsara, while the one who grasps at non-existence will find no liberation.

When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.

The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming who you are not.

True freedom is a freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts and afflictive emotions.

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

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

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.

We practice to learn how to let go, not how to increase our holding on to things.

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity than thinking.

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery.

Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.

The victorious ones have said that emptiness is the relinquishing of all views. Those who are possessed of the view of emptiness are said to be incurable.

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived, how well we have loved, how well we have learned to let go.

Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that's all that's happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness--life's painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person.

Each of you is perfect the way you are... and you can use a little improvement.

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.

Our emotions are like waves in the ocean. We can't stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

When we understand that peace is not dependent on external conditions, we can find it in the midst of any circumstance.

The secret of happiness is to want what you already have.

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

Don't be a bodhisatta; don't be an arahant; don't be anything at all. Being something makes you suffer.

Every thought, every word, and every action leaves an imprint on our mind.

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

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.

True peace comes not from controlling the world, but from letting go of control.

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.

The mind is like a room with many windows. Open them all and let the fresh air in.

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

When we recognize that our thoughts are just thoughts, we can choose whether or not to follow them.

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking.

The mind is everything. What you think, you become.