The time of the past becomes the present, the time of the present becomes the future, the time of the future becomes the present, and the time of the present becomes the past.

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

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

Zazen is not step-by-step meditation. Rather it is simply the easy and pleasant practice of a Buddha, the realization of the Buddha's Wisdom.

Suffering is not the end of the story; it is the middle of the story.

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

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

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

The mind is everything. What you think, you become.

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

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

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

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

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick. Every time a stick is thrown, you run after it. Instead, be like a lion who, rather than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower.

Birth and death are neither two things nor one thing. Life is not an appearance, death is not a disappearance.

In our struggle for freedom, truth is the only weapon we possess.

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

Since all things are empty of inherent existence, anything is possible. If things had inherent existence, nothing would be possible.

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

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

The greatest obstacle to meditation is our expectation about what it should be.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

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

Life is like an ever-shifting kaleidoscope - a slight change, and all patterns alter.

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

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

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

It is never too late to turn on the light.

The basic idea of Zen is to come in touch with the inner workings of our being, and to do this in the most direct way possible, without resorting to anything external or superadded.

The cultivation of loving-kindness has the power to transform enmity into amity, hostility into hospitality.

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.