This is the real secret of life -- to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realize it is play.

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

Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.

There is no difference at all between samsara and nirvana. There is no difference at all between nirvana and samsara.

True freedom is not the absence of commitment but the presence of choice.

When we are mindful, deeply in touch with the present moment, our understanding of what is going on deepens, and we begin to be filled with acceptance, joy, peace and love.

The nature of everything is empty and clear, and the mind is beyond both existence and nonexistence.

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking.

Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.

Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.

The more you suffer the deeper grows your character, and with the deepening of your character you read the more penetratingly into the secrets of life.

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.

Our emotions are like waves in the ocean. We can't stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

The more you understand, the more you love; the more you love, the more you understand.

Wherever you are, you are one with the clouds and one with the sun and the stars you see. You are one with everything. That is more true than I can say, and more true than you can hear.

The practice of mindfulness begins in the small, remote cave of your unconscious mind and blossoms with the sunlight of your conscious life.

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.

Do everything with a mind that lets go. Don't accept praise or gain or anything else. If you let go a little, you will have a little peace; if you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.

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

Our own life has to be our message.

The law of nature is the law of cause and effect. As you sow, so shall you reap.

The teaching of the Buddha is based on two truths: conventional truth and ultimate truth. Without understanding the relationship between these two, the deeper meaning of the Buddha's teaching cannot be understood.

The practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

The practice of Zen mind is beginner's mind. In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities; in the expert's mind there are few.

The art of living... is neither careless drifting on the one hand nor fearful clinging to the past on the other. It consists in being sensitive to each moment, in regarding it as utterly new and unique, in having the mind open and wholly receptive.

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

The Four Noble Truths are not mere doctrinal propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our lives.

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

May all beings be happy, be peaceful, be liberated.

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

The only things that are truly mine are my actions and their results.

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

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