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

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

Mindfulness is the key to the present moment. Without it we cannot see the world clearly, and we cannot make the wisest choices in our lives.

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.

Your mind is like a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers or you can grow weeds.

The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.

Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.

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

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

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

Wisdom is not about accumulating knowledge, but about seeing through all knowledge.

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

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

The true person is not anyone in particular. But like the deep blue color of the limitless sky, it is everyone, everywhere in the world.

Just as true humor is laughter at oneself, true humanity is knowledge of oneself.

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

Life is like a cup of tea. It's all in how you make it.

The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

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

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.

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

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

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

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

The only way to experience truth is to look within, to observe oneself.

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

Although all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, they function perfectly well.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy, and happiness is found in benefiting others.

The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have.

The root of all suffering is ignorance. The antidote to ignorance is wisdom that realizes emptiness.

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

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

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

Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks.

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

When we attempt to exercise power or control over someone else, we cannot avoid giving that person the very same power or control over us.

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

Don't be afraid of the future. The future is good.

Real peace comes from seeing things as they really are, not as we want them to be.

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.

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

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

The path of insight is a path of discovery, not a path of creation. We are discovering what is already there.

Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophy or a religion; it is a method of practice.

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

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

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

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

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

The mind itself is the maker of all happiness and misery; yet beings do not understand this and blame external conditions.

Knowledge must be stabilized by meditation. Without meditation, knowledge is like a child in battle.

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

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

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

We need the courage to learn from our experience and the wisdom to be willing to change and grow.

To see directly is to be free of hope and fear. Hope and fear are like a cloud before the sun.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.