The mind that notes and the object that is noted are both impermanent. Understanding this leads to liberation.

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

By understanding emptiness, one understands all phenomena. Without understanding emptiness, one understands nothing.

The way to change the world is to change your own mind.

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

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.

Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.

We can learn the art of fierce compassion - redefining strength, deconstructing isolation and renewing a sense of community, practicing letting go of rigid us-vs.-them thinking.

In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.

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.

Mind training is based on the idea that two opposite mental factors cannot happen at the same time.

True love is not for the faint-hearted.

The menu is not the meal.

Silence is sometimes the best answer.

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

When dharma fills your body and mind, you realize that something is missing.

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

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

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

The trouble is, you think you have time.

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

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

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

Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I would like to see you living in better conditions.

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

Your own treasure house contains everything you need; why search outside?

Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one's own acts, done and undone.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

The contradiction so puzzling to the ordinary way of thinking comes from the fact that we have to use language to communicate our inner experience, which in its very nature transcends linguistics.

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

In true dialogue, both sides are willing to change.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

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

The measure of success in spiritual life is how peaceful you are.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

Though the view should be as vast as the sky, keep your conduct as fine as barley flour.

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

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 defilements of the mind are temporary visitors. Pure awareness is your true home.

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

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

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

Sometimes one creates a dynamic impression by saying something, and sometimes one creates as significant an impression by remaining silent.

Don't try to change the world. First, change yourself.

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

When another person makes you suffer, it is because he suffers deeply within himself, and his suffering is spilling over. He does not need punishment; he needs help.

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.

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

To live is enough.

The biggest prison is the one we build in our own mind.

Compassion is the radicalism of our time.

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

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

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

The first step toward faith is to admit that we don't know everything.

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.

People who study a lot but don't practice are like a ladle in a soup pot. It's in the soup every day, but it doesn't know the taste of the soup.

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

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

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