If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong.

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

Silence is sometimes the best answer.

The heart of one who practices is like the earth. No matter what they throw on it, the earth remains unchanged.

The nature of the mind is like the sky, and our thoughts, emotions, and experiences are like clouds passing through it.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment.

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

A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise.

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

My religion is to live and die without regret.

The past is for learning from, not for living in.

The stages of insight unfold naturally when mindfulness is continuous. There is no need to desire them or try to make them happen.

The superior person is like water, bringing benefit to all without competing.

The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy. This is the goal of Buddhist practice.

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

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

The movement of love is what creates the beauty in our lives.

We can learn to be present with whatever is happening in our lives, and in this way, we can begin to transform our relationship to difficulty.

If you want to know the past, look at the present. If you want to know the future, look at the present.

The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others.

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

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 five aggregates are not a theoretical model but a description of lived experience to be investigated through mindfulness.

Since all things are empty of inherent existence, anything is possible. If things had inherent existence, nothing would be possible.

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

The development of insight is gradual, but the realization of truth is sudden.

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

The mind is like water. When it's turbulent, it's difficult to see. When it's calm, everything becomes clear.

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

When you understand that all phenomena are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self, attachment naturally falls away.

The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming who you are not.

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

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

Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity than thinking.

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

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

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

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

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

The Buddha taught that wealth does not bring happiness and security. The pursuit of wealth is a matter of living in balance.

You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger.

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

To live is enough.

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

The Buddha's teaching challenges us to master the art of living, to live in a way that leads to the extinction of suffering.

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.

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.

True freedom is a freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts and afflictive emotions.

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

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

Misery ceases to exist when we stop reacting to sensations.

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

The deepest form of happiness comes from discovering the natural peace of our own awareness.

Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.