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

Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals.

Time passes unhindered. When we make mistakes, we cannot turn the clock back and try again. All we can do is use the present well.

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

Expectations are the thieves of joy.

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

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.

Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.

The Buddha's teaching is a middle way between all extremes, between eternalism and annihilationism, between self-indulgence and self-torture.

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

For whom emptiness is possible, everything is possible. For whom emptiness is not possible, nothing is possible.

Faith is the firm foundation, diligence the supporting pillar, and wisdom the roof of the house of practice.

The true mark of a spiritual practitioner is that your own behavior is better, not that you can criticize others well.

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

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

The six realms of existence are like a dream, why build a prison for yourself?

The purpose of our lives is to be happy.

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

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

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

The goal of the Buddhist path is not to add something to our existence but to discover something that has been there all along.

Our emotions are like waves in the ocean. We can't stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

The way we look at the world is the way the world looks.

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.

Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher.

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

The treasure house within you contains everything, and you are free to use it. You don't need to seek outside.

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

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

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself.

The force of the kindness of others is so strong, we can't possibly measure it.

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

Don't be a bodhisatta; don't be an arahant; don't be anything at all. Being something makes you suffer.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

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

Loving-kindness is not something we need to manufacture. It's a natural expression of our awakened nature.

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

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.

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

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.

Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness.

The lamp of wisdom burns constantly, illuminating the nature of mind.

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

Enlightenment is the realization that we were never really separate from one another or from all of life.

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look into your present actions.

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.

If you want to understand suffering, you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there.

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

My religion is to live and die without regret.

All that appears and exists, all of samsara and nirvana, has one ground, two paths, and two results. This is the magical display of awareness and unawareness.

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

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

If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.

Right View is not just a matter of intellectual understanding but of seeing things as they really are.

Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer evil with good. Conquer stinginess with giving. Conquer deceit with truth.

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

When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight.

When I run from suffering, it follows me. When I face suffering with equanimity, it runs from me.

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