Meditation is not about trying to change ourselves. Meditation is about being aware of what is.

When things fall apart and we're on the verge of we know not what, the test of each of us is to stay on that brink and not concretize.

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

When you begin to see that your enemy is suffering, that is the beginning of insight.

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

When you listen to someone, you should give up all your preconceived ideas and your subjective opinions.

The essence of Buddhism is not a belief system but a systematic investigation of our experience.

In the spiritual world there are no time divisions such as the past, present and future; for they have contracted themselves into a single moment of the present where life quivers in its true sense.

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

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

What we call "I" is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and when we exhale.

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

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

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

True happiness comes from a sense of inner peace and contentment, which in turn must be achieved through cultivation of altruism, of love, of compassion.

Buddhist practice is not to eliminate life's problems but to grow with them patiently and with compassion.

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

The practice of patience guards us against losing our presence of mind.

If you want to understand suffering, you must look into the situation at hand. The teachings say that wherever a problem arises it must be settled right there.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

Meditation in the midst of activity is a thousand times superior to meditation in stillness.

Suffering comes from our resistance to what is. Peace comes from our acceptance of what is.

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

Each moment of clear seeing is a moment of freedom from the illusion of permanence, satisfaction, and self.

The whole path of mindfulness is about letting go. We let go of our attachment to our views, our attachment to our opinions, our attachment to our ideas.

The practitioner and practice are like fire and wood. The more you practice, the more you burn.

The most difficult times for many of us are the ones we give ourselves.

The snow lion stays in the mountains, and the snow lion's ways are the snow lion's ways.

Zen teaches nothing; it merely enables us to wake up and become aware. It does not teach, it points.

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

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