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

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

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

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

In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

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

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

The precious pot containing my riches becomes my teacher in the very moment it breaks.

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

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

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

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

All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death.

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

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

Forgiveness is giving up all hope for a better past.

Give the ones you love wings to fly, roots to come back, and reasons to stay.

Nothing is permanent. Everything is subject to change. Being is always becoming.

True happiness is not found through the multiplication of desires but through their simplification.

The law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

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

The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.

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

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

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

We deal with our mind from morning until evening, and it can be our best friend or our worst enemy.

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

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

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

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

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

Peace is not found by changing the world, but by changing your attitude to the world.

The Dhamma is not a collection of doctrinal formulas but a path leading to direct insight into the nature of reality.

For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.

Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.

The path to enlightenment is not a path at all. It is a realization that where you are is where you have always been.

To live is enough.

The difference between being caught in thoughts and being mindful of thoughts is like the difference between being in a movie and watching a movie.

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

The mind is like a well-forged sword - it adapts to all situations.

Liberation is found in the practice, not in the theory.

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

The knowledge of dissolution comes when you see both the noting mind and noted object dissolving together.

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

The purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is not to be well known, cited, or powerful.

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

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

The door of your heart can only be opened from the inside.

You are the master of your own mind. You can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

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

The practice of vipassana is the study of the self. When you study physical and mental phenomena, you are studying the truth about yourself.

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

The more you understand impermanence, the more you appreciate every moment.

Happiness is found in the simplest of things. It is not in the things you own, but in the love you share.

Be happy at the moment, that's enough. Each moment is all we need, not more.

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

Life is an art, and like perfect art it should be self-forgetting.

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

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