To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.

Change is the nature of every phenomenon. Accept this truth and you will live a happy life.

Time passes unhindered. When we make mistakes, we cannot turn the clock back and try again. All we can do is use the present well.

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

The truth of suffering is not to be feared but to be understood through direct observation.

In meditation, we are continuously discovering who and what we are.

Hope and fear come from feeling that we lack something; they come from a sense of poverty. We can't simply relax with ourselves. We hold on to hope, and hope robs us of the present moment.

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

The purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is not to be well known, cited, or powerful.

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

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

If you want to find peace, then look at that point where you find you're dissatisfied and investigate what's really going on.

The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

When you understand that all phenomena are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and non-self, attachment naturally falls away.

Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away.

The purpose of meditation is not to create a mental vacuum but to come to know one's own mind.

There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind.

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.

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.

Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.

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

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

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

Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom.

Past thoughts are traceless, clear, and empty. Future thoughts are unborn and fresh. The present moment abides naturally and unconstructed.

Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good.

The three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.

Where there is great doubt, there is great awakening; small doubt, small awakening; no doubt, no awakening.

Change is possible because there is nothing inherently permanent about our disturbing emotions.

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.