The path is not about moving from one place to another. It's about recognizing where we already are.

You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.

As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break through an unreflecting mind.

The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.

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

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

The essence of the spiritual journey is the uncovering of what is always already present.

All that appears and exists, all of samsara and nirvana, has one ground, two paths, and two results. This is the magical display of awareness and unawareness.

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.

As a flower that is lovely and beautiful, but is scentless, even so fruitless is the well-spoken word of one who does not practice it.

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.

Right practice is steady practice. Whether you feel lazy or diligent, just keep practicing.

At the bottom of great doubt lies great awakening. If you doubt fully, you will awaken fully.

Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.

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

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

Real happiness comes from having an unshakable connection to the deep wellspring of peace and happiness that is not dependent on external conditions.

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.

Enlightenment is the realization that we were never really separate from one another or from all of life.

Wisdom and compassion must be developed equally and harmoniously.

The miracle is not to walk on water. The miracle is to walk on the green earth, dwelling deeply in the present moment and feeling truly alive.

The most important things in our practice are our physical posture and our way of breathing.

The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.

Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.

Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.

Leave your front door and your back door open. Allow your thoughts to come and go. Just don't serve them tea.

The more precisely you note, the more clearly you understand. The more clearly you understand, the stronger your insight becomes.

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

The mind is like a well-forged sword - it adapts to all situations.

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 spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell.

The purpose of meditation is to gain right understanding of the true nature of mental and physical phenomena.

The moment you note a thought, it disappears. The noting mind keeps the hindrances away.