Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively.

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

Life is available only in the present moment.

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

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

Wisdom arises when you see the true characteristics of phenomena through direct experience.

As surely as there is a voyage away, there is a journey home.

The one who grasps at existence suffers in samsara, while the one who grasps at non-existence will find no liberation.

The mind is everything. What you think you become.

The more we understand impermanence, the more we appreciate each moment of our lives.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

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

The more we understand impermanence, the more we understand that we can't hold on to anything.

The silence between the notes is as important as the notes themselves.

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced state of mind.

The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.

When mindfulness becomes continuous, the distinction between the observer and the observed begins to break down.

The nature of everything is illusory and ephemeral, those with dualistic perception regard suffering as happiness, like they who lick the honey from a razor's edge.

The heart of one who practices is like the earth. No matter what they throw on it, the earth remains unchanged.

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.

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment.

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

Every thought, every word, and every action leaves an imprint on our mind.

The only things that are truly mine are my actions and their results.

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

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

When the mind is ready to understand, the truth will come to meet it.

In the spring, hundreds of flowers; in autumn, a harvest moon; in the summer, a refreshing breeze; in winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you.

The key to the Buddha's teaching is not grasping, not trying to hold onto things that are essentially impermanent and unstable.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

Sensations are not your enemy. They are your teacher. Through observing them, you understand the truth of existence.

Better to have one moment of genuine meditation than to perform religious activities for a thousand years.

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

Not by hatred is hatred conquered, but by love alone. This is an eternal law.

Each of you is perfect the way you are... and you can use a little improvement.

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

The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation.

The victorious ones have said that emptiness is the relinquishing of all views. Those who are possessed of the view of emptiness are said to be incurable.

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

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

The real meaning of enlightenment is to gaze with undimmed eyes on all darkness.

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.

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

Self-awareness is the key to freedom. The more we understand ourselves, the more we understand how to be free.

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

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

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

Trees, mountains, and vines all exist in nature according to their own truth. They are born and die following their nature. They remain this way because that's what they are. They don't practice meditation or do anything special.

When we understand others, we understand ourselves. When we love others, we love ourselves.

The stages of insight unfold naturally when mindfulness is continuous. There is no need to desire them or try to make them happen.

Enlightenment is not about becoming something special, but about realizing what we already are.

When you recognize that pain and suffering are impermanent, you become free.

A pure mind is always full of love - real love for all others.

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.

Misery ceases to exist when we stop reacting to sensations.

When we see the nature of the mind, we see that we are not our thoughts.

The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

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

Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past could have been any different.

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.