The movement of love is what creates the beauty in our lives.

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.

External seeking only leads to exhaustion. When you imitate others, you lose your own authenticity.

Wisdom and compassion must be developed equally and harmoniously.

Even if you speak of 'understanding,' this understanding is not a matter of knowledge. It is what fills the entire body and mind.

The obstacle is the path.

You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.

Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher.

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

The nature of all things is like a magical illusion, a mirage, a dream, a reflection of the moon in water.

We think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.

We can learn the art of fierce compassion - redefining strength, deconstructing isolation and renewing a sense of community, practicing letting go of rigid us-vs.-them thinking.

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

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

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced state of mind.

True freedom is not the absence of commitment but the presence of choice.

The everyday practice is simply to develop complete acceptance and openness to all situations and emotions.

The lamp of wisdom burns constantly, illuminating the nature of mind.

The Four Noble Truths are not mere doctrinal propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our lives.

Faith is the firm foundation, diligence the supporting pillar, and wisdom the roof of the house of practice.

A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.

Zen proposes its solution by directly appealing to facts of personal experience and not to book-knowledge.

Our own life has to be our message.

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

In the gap between thoughts, nonconceptual wisdom shines continuously.

Anxiety and excitement are the same emotion. The only difference is our attitude toward the experience.

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.

The path is the goal. Every step of the journey is the journey.

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

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

Just to be alive is enough.

You are your own teacher. Looking for teachers can't solve your own doubts. Investigate yourself to find the truth - inside, not outside.

There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

Don't be afraid of the future. The future is good.

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

The mind is everything. What you think you become.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

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

The key to the Buddha's teaching is not grasping, not trying to hold onto things that are essentially impermanent and unstable.

Words have the power to both destroy and heal. When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.

The first step toward faith is to admit that we don't know everything.

The way we look at the world is the way the world looks.

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.

The most important thing in life is to know death is coming and to prepare for it.

The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation.

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

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced mind that sees things clearly without reaction.

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

The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life.

The essence of meditation is not something complicated or exotic. It is simply taking a break from our habitual patterns.

The more you suffer the deeper grows your character, and with the deepening of your character you read the more penetratingly into the secrets of life.

When the mind is ready to understand, the truth will come to meet it.

The key to happiness is inner peace. The greatest obstacles to inner peace are disturbing emotions such as anger, attachment, fear and suspicion.

If you want to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be miserable, expect something in return.

Misery ceases to exist when we stop reacting to sensations.

The grass is greener where you water it.

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

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

When the heart is still, it can be kind. When the mind is still, it can see clearly.