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

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

Face your own anger and you will be free from anger. Face your own fears and you will be free from fear.

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

The water in the ocean can be rough or calm. It can be clear or murky. But the water itself doesn't mind.

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

The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self.

The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

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

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

Although all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, they function perfectly well.

Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past could have been any different.

The development of wisdom requires both study and practice, both learning and direct experience.

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

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

The entire path is a path of self-responsibility. Nobody else can walk it for you.

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 nature of mind is not something we need to achieve - it's something we need to recognize.

The goal of meditation is not to reach some highest place, but to remain in the place where you already are.

The practice of meditation is not about achieving states of bliss but about seeing things as they really are.

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.

Compassion is not something we develop. It arises naturally as we see the truth of what is.

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.

The trick is to keep exploring and not bail out, even when we find out that something is not what we thought.

The only thing that we truly have control over is our attitude toward experience.

Insight knowledge comes from direct experience, not from intellectual understanding.

The true person is not anyone in particular. But like the deep blue color of the limitless sky, it is everyone, everywhere in the world.

The purpose of meditation is to gain right understanding of the true nature of mental and physical phenomena.

Real peace comes from seeing things as they really are, not as we want them to be.

The three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

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

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

The biggest prison is the one we build in our own mind.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

The goal of Buddhist practice is not to escape from the world but to transform our relationship with it.

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

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

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

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

The six realms of existence are like a dream, why build a prison for yourself?

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

Every intelligent individual wants to know what makes him tick, and yet is at once fascinated and frustrated by the fact that oneself is the most difficult of all things to know.

The path of awakening is not about becoming who we think we should be, but about unbecoming who we are not.

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.

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

Mindfulness isn't difficult, we just need to remember to do it.

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

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

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

Real happiness lies within. It cannot be found in external objects or achievements.

Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer evil with good. Conquer stinginess with giving. Conquer deceit with truth.

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.

The Noble Eightfold Path is a path of training: training in ethical conduct, training in mental discipline, and training in wisdom.

What Zen wants us to do is to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature.

Peace and negativity cannot coexist just as light and darkness cannot coexist.

The world is its own magic.

Your mind is like a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.

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