The path to liberation is a gradual path of self-discipline, self-development, and self-transformation.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.

The deepest happiness comes from having an enduring sense of purpose, one that gives our lives meaning beyond the endless pursuit of pleasure and success.

Compassion is not a sign of weakness but a sign of strength.

Generosity generates its own enthusiasm. We don't have to force ourselves to be generous; we just need to start.

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 more you understand impermanence, the more you appreciate every moment.

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.

The force of the kindness of others is so strong, we can't possibly measure it.

The trouble is, you think you have time.

Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

The view is like a lion - it cannot be led around by anything else. Meditation is like an eagle - it cannot be distracted by anything else. Action is like a madman - it is free from accepting and rejecting.

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

Craving and aversion are the roots of suffering. Observe them with equanimity.

The experience of emptiness engenders compassion.

When mindfulness is weak, defilements are strong; when mindfulness is strong, defilements are weak.

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

Through understanding emptiness, one does not become proud of one's virtues, just as one does not become proud of building a castle in the sky.

The nature of mind is the unity of awareness and emptiness.

The practice of mindfulness is simply to bring awareness to what we are doing, what we are saying, and what we are thinking.

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.

Mindfulness is attention to life, and life itself is sacred.

The zazen I speak of is not meditation practice. It is simply the dharma gate of joyful ease.

The grass is greener where you water it.

Freedom is not found in the absence of difficulty, but in our relationship to it.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

Liberation is not found by running away from our experience but by looking deeply into it.

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.

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

The quality of every moment depends on the state of our minds.

Mindfulness is the key to transformation. It enables us to see our experience as it really is, free from distortion and bias.

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

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived, how well we have loved, how well we have learned to let go.