What is the sound of one hand clapping?

The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows. There is nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Zen. I raise my hand; I take a book from the other side of the desk; I hear the boys playing ball outside my window; I see the clouds blown away beyond the neighboring wood: all these I do in Zen.

Our defilements are like tame tigers. If you feed them, they're tame. If you stop feeding them, they'll eat you up.

The Buddha's path is not about becoming somebody different but about becoming more and more who you really are.

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

Devotion is the head of meditation, as is often said. When you are inspired by some spiritual teacher, you can have a very strong connection with that person, and thereby the blessings can enter.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

The yogi's joy is in the solitude of mountains, where all distractions naturally dissolve into emptiness.

Each moment of mindfulness is a moment of purification.

True peace is found not in the absence of experience but in the clear seeing of all experience.

In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.

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

The object of meditation and the mind which knows it must be noted as they occur. If they are not noted, desire arises and disturbs concentration.

Nothing can harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.

The menu is not the meal.

The way to overcome anger is to be too busy being kind to have time to be angry.

The past is gone, the future is not yet here. Live in the present moment with awareness.

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

Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher.

Wherever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear.

As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion.

Instead of having a deep understanding of the teaching, we need a strong confidence in our teaching, which says that originally we have Buddha nature.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

Those who grasp at things as truly existent are like someone trying to catch the reflection of the moon in water.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

Just as the wise do not take a mirage to be water, nor an echo to be a voice, so the enlightened do not take the world to be real.

To live – is that not enough? To love – is that not everything?

Those who understand interdependent origination understand suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.

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

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

Meditation is not about getting rid of thoughts; it's about changing the way we relate to them.