Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation.

The nature of mind is not something we need to achieve - it's something we need to recognize.

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks.

True freedom is a freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts and afflictive emotions.

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

The development of wisdom requires both study and practice, both learning and direct experience.

When the heart is still, it can be kind. When the mind is still, it can see clearly.

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

When you are you, Zen is Zen. Big mind is just big mind.

The dharma is not in the books. If you want to find the dharma, look in your mind.

The most important thing in life is to know death is coming and to prepare for it.

The most profound meditation is to think nothing at all.

The rising and falling of the abdomen is not the main object. The main object is to develop mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

The path of awakening is not about becoming who we think we should be, but about unbecoming who we are not.

The four foundations of mindfulness are not separate practices but different aspects of the same practice of clear awareness.

Feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear, instead of being bad news, are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we're holding back.

When the mind is ready to understand, the truth will come to meet it.

The more we understand the nature of our mind, the more we understand the nature of our world.

The greatest obstacle to connecting with our joy is resentment.

The great gift of meditation is that it returns us to the simplicity of our own being.

Trees, mountains, and vines all exist in nature according to their own truth. They are born and die following their nature. They remain this way because that's what they are. They don't practice meditation or do anything special.

Awareness is always with us. We don't need to create it or achieve it - we just need to recognize what's already there.

The only way to fail at meditation is to stop doing it.

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

Mindfulness means keeping one's consciousness alive to the present reality.

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment.

Moment after moment, completely devote yourself to listening to your inner voice.

The mind can go in a thousand directions, but on this beautiful path, I walk in peace. With each step, the wind blows. With each step, a flower blooms.

To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening.

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

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