Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

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

Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.

There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

To live fully is to let go and die with each step.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The realization of impermanence leads not to despair but to a deeper appreciation of the preciousness of each moment.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischievous. Then they will be in control in a wider sense.

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

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

You are your own teacher. Looking for teachers can't solve your own doubts. Investigate yourself to find the truth - inside, not outside.

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

Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

Time passes unhindered. When we make ourselves better, we make the world better.

To understand everything is to forgive everything.

Sankharas are the seeds of consciousness that manifest as sensations. By observing sensations equanimously, we stop creating new sankharas.

Just to be alive is enough.

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

Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

The best way to solve a problem is to help someone else solve their problem.

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

In the beginning, nothing comes, in the middle nothing stays, in the end nothing goes.

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

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

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

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

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

Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.

True happiness is born of letting go of what is unnecessary.

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

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.

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.

The real secret of the arts: always be a beginner.

You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.

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

When you let go of trying to control everything, you can relax and enjoy life.

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

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

The dharma is not outside of you. Looking for it elsewhere is like placing a Buddha on your head while searching for him everywhere else.

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

If it isn't good, let it die. If it doesn't die, make it good.

The essence of Buddhism is not a belief system but a systematic investigation of our experience.

Every being has the potential of becoming a Buddha. Our true nature is Buddha nature.

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.

The past is just a memory. The future is just a dream. Be here now.

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

Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away.

Enlightenment is not the end of change but the end of resistance to change.

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