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.

If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.

Mindfulness is being aware of what's going on, not trying to control what's going on.

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

True peace is found not in the absence of experience but in the clear seeing of all experience.

Work diligently. Diligently. Work patiently and persistently. Patiently and persistently. And you're bound to be successful. Bound to be successful.

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

The restraint of the senses is not a matter of suppression but of wise attention to our experience.

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

The practice of patience guards us against losing our presence of mind.

Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what's happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what's happening.

Forgiveness is not a moral issue. It's a power issue. When we hold onto grievance and resentment, we are giving our power away.

Ethical conduct is not a constraint upon our freedom but a condition of our freedom.

To see the truth, do not be for or against. The struggle between for and against is the mind's worst disease.

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

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 spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

Hasten slowly and you will soon arrive.

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

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

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

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

Buddhist practice is not to eliminate life's problems but to grow with them patiently and with compassion.

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

Wisdom and compassion must be developed equally and harmoniously.

The more we understand the nature of our mind, the more we understand the nature of our world.

Awareness is always with us. We don't need to create it or achieve it - we just need to recognize what's already there.

The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another.

The heart of the path is quite simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

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

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

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.

Change is the nature of every phenomenon. Accept this truth and you will live a happy life.

The mind is intrinsically empty. It's empty of all that we perceive as being intrinsically "me" and "mine."

Emptiness is not nothingness. Emptiness is the space of possibility.

Not by hatred is hatred conquered, but by love alone. This is an eternal law.

Things derive their being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves.

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.

If you want to find peace, then look at that point where you find you're dissatisfied and investigate what's really going on.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

Through continuous mindfulness practice, the true nature of physical and mental phenomena becomes clear.

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

Enlightenment is not about becoming something special, but about realizing what we already are.

There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind.

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

Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.

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

When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce.

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

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

The person who clings to nothing of the past, present and future, who has no attachment and no aversion, has no conceptual imprints.

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

The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.

Wisdom is not about accumulating knowledge, but about seeing through all knowledge.

Karma is not fate but the law of moral causation, showing us that we are the architects of our own destiny.

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