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

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

Mindfulness means keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality.

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

The mind is like a well-forged sword - it adapts to all situations.

Without darkness, there is no light. Without the path, there is no arrival.

The path is not about moving from one place to another. It's about recognizing where we already are.

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

The great gift of meditation is that it returns us to the simplicity of our own being.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophical system but a practical guide to living.

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.

The goal of meditation is not to reach some highest place, but to remain in the place where you already are.

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

Nothing is permanent. Everything is subject to change. Being is always becoming.

The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.

The essence of the spiritual journey is the uncovering of what is always already present.

The seed of suffering in you may be strong, but don't wait until you have no more suffering before allowing yourself to be happy.

The practice is not about achieving special states but about seeing ordinary experience with extraordinary clarity.

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.

The menu is not the meal.

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

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind.

Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

The perfect moment is this one, not the one you're waiting for.

True freedom is a freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts and afflictive emotions.

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

We practice to learn how to let go, not how to increase our holding on to things.

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

Life is available only in the present moment.

All worldly pursuits have but one unavoidable and inevitable end, which is sorrow; acquisitions end in dispersion; buildings in destruction; meetings in separation; births in death.

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

The secret of happiness is to want what you already have.

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

Things derive their being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves.

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

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

Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.

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

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

Sankharas are the seeds of consciousness that manifest as sensations. By observing sensations equanimously, we stop creating new sankharas.

Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation.

The teaching of the Buddha is based on two truths: conventional truth and ultimate truth. Without understanding the relationship between these two, the deeper meaning of the Buddha's teaching cannot be understood.

Faith is not a commodity that you either have or don't have - it is an inner quality that unfolds as we learn to trust our own deepest experience.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

To live fully is to let go and die with each step.

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

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

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.

Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.

The things that matter most in our lives are not fantastic or grand. They are the moments when we touch one another.

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

Panic, anxiety, and stress are not obstacles to the practice. They are the path to wisdom and compassion.

Just to be alive is enough.

The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.

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

The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.

The past is just a memory. The future is just a dream. Be here now.

Insight knowledge comes from direct experience, not from intellectual understanding.