When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.

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

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

Knowledge must be stabilized by meditation. Without meditation, knowledge is like a child in battle.

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

Meditation is like catching a fish. If you try to catch it quickly, you'll miss it. If you have patience and know how to wait, the fish will come.

Generosity generates its own enthusiasm. We don't have to force ourselves to be generous; we just need to start.

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

Craving and aversion are the roots of suffering. Observe them with equanimity.

Life is available only in the present moment.

Panic is a gateway to wisdom. When we learn to stay present with our panic, it becomes our teacher.

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.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

The teaching of the Buddha is based on two truths: conventional truth and ultimate truth. Without understanding the relationship between these two, the deeper meaning of the Buddha's teaching cannot be understood.

Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead, it's about becoming more fully human.

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

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.

Change is possible because there is nothing inherently permanent about our disturbing emotions.

The purpose of a spiritual discipline is to give us a way to stop the war, not by our force of will, but through understanding and through letting go.

If you see certainty in that which is uncertain, you are bound to suffer.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

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.

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

The most important factor in achieving happiness is the mind. Happiness and suffering are mental states and therefore depend on the mind.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

Mind training is based on the idea that two opposite mental factors cannot happen at the same time.

Happiness is a skill that can be developed like playing an instrument or learning to read.

The more clearly you see the arising and passing of phenomena, the less you will be attached to them.

In my youth I studied, in my prime I practiced, now all my doubts are cleared.

Real happiness comes from having an unshakable connection to the deep wellspring of peace and happiness that is not dependent on external conditions.

Right practice is steady practice. Whether you feel lazy or diligent, just keep practicing.

Panic, anxiety, and stress are not obstacles to the practice. They are the path to wisdom and compassion.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

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

We do not "come into" this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree.

When I run from suffering, it follows me. When I face suffering with equanimity, it runs from me.

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

The way to change the world is to change your own mind.

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.

Peace requires us to surrender our illusions of control.

When concentration is developed, wisdom arises. When wisdom arises, one becomes disenchanted with the five aggregates.

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

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

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

Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.

Every moment of confusion is also a moment of wisdom, if we can learn to recognize it.

The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

Start from where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Every step on the path must be with the understanding of anicca - impermanence. This is the essence of the teaching.

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

The ocean does not reject any water; therefore it is great. The mountain does not select its stones; therefore it is great.

The more you give, the more you have. That's the economics of kindness.

Suffering comes from our resistance to what is. Peace comes from our acceptance of what is.

Hasten slowly and you will soon arrive.

To live is enough.

When we understand others, we understand ourselves. When we love others, we love ourselves.