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

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

There is no difference at all between samsara and nirvana. There is no difference at all between nirvana and samsara.

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

True peace comes not from controlling the world, but from letting go of control.

Don't try to change the world. First, change yourself.

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

The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.

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.

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

The measure of success in spiritual life is how peaceful you are.

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

Many people think excitement is happiness... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.

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

Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.

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

In the spring, hundreds of flowers; in autumn, a harvest moon; in the summer, a refreshing breeze; in winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you.

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

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

Each of you is perfect the way you are... and you can use a little improvement.

The secret of happiness lies not in getting what we want, but in learning to want what we already have.

The essence of Buddhist practice is to reduce our selfishness and to work for the benefit of others.

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

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

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

Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache: you won't be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.

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

Without darkness, there is no light. Without the path, there is no arrival.

To be in harmony with the wholeness of things is not to have anxiety over imperfection.

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

The practice of mindfulness leads naturally to concentration. Concentration leads naturally to wisdom.

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

The mind creates the abyss, and the heart crosses it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope - a slight change, and all patterns alter.

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

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

When we meet real tragedy in life, we can react in two ways - either by losing hope and falling into self-destructive habits, or by using the challenge to find our inner strength.

If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.

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

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophical system but a practical guide to living.

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

The farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

Zen is not necessarily against words, but it is well aware of their limitations.

The grass is greener where you water it.

Mindfulness is not just bare attention but wise attention that leads to understanding and insight.

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

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived, how well we have loved, how well we have learned to let go.

The more we understand impermanence, the more we understand that we can't hold on to anything.

To understand everything is to forgive everything.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.