Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that's all that's happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness--life's painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person.

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

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

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

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

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

If you want to know your past life, look at your present condition. If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

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

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

Hasten slowly and you will soon arrive.

The goal of Buddhist practice is not to escape from the world but to transform our relationship with it.

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.

The Buddha's teachings are not about abandoning our lives but about bringing the fullness of our attention to our lives.

Love is the wish that others be happy, and compassion is the wish that they be free from suffering.

The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

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

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.

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

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

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

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.

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

When we understand that peace is not dependent on external conditions, we can find it in the midst of any circumstance.

Mindfulness isn't difficult, we just need to remember to do it.

The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.

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

Happiness is not the pursuit of an endless succession of experiences but an attitude toward life.

Muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone.

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.

What Zen wants us to do is to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature.

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.

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

Liberation is not found by running away from our experience but by looking deeply into it.

Buddhist practice is not to eliminate life's problems but to grow with them patiently and with compassion.

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

To what shall I compare this life? It is like a boat that left at dawn, leaving no trace.

The snow lion stays in the mountains, and the snow lion's ways are the snow lion's ways.

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

True love is not for the faint-hearted.

The precious pot containing my riches becomes my teacher in the very moment it breaks.

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

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

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

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

In the gap between thoughts, nonconceptual wisdom shines continuously.

External seeking only leads to exhaustion. When you imitate others, you lose your own authenticity.

Study the Buddha's teaching which is present in every moment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

The more you understand yourself, the more you understand the world.