The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

What is evil? Killing is evil, lying is evil, slandering is evil, abuse is evil, gossip is evil, envy is evil, hatred is evil, to cling to false doctrine is evil; all these things are evil. And what is the root of evil? Desire is the root of evil, illusion is the root of evil.

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it.

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

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

The practice is simply this: keep coming back to your breath during the day. This will give your mind a steadiness and your life a balance.

When we see the nature of the mind, we see that we are not our thoughts.

Time passes unhindered. When we make ourselves better, we make the world better.

World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.

Enlightenment is not the end of change but the end of resistance to change.

Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.

Zen proposes its solution by directly appealing to facts of personal experience and not to book-knowledge.

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

The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy. This is the goal of Buddhist practice.

True happiness is not about getting rid of all our problems, but about changing our relationship to them.

The truth of suffering is not to be feared but to be understood through direct observation.

The cultivation of loving-kindness has the power to transform enmity into amity, hostility into hospitality.

The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.

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

Where there is great doubt, there is great awakening; small doubt, small awakening; no doubt, no awakening.

The path is not about perfecting ourselves, but about perfecting our love.

We deal with our mind from morning until evening, and it can be our best friend or our worst enemy.

Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.

Wisdom arises when you see the true characteristics of phenomena through direct experience.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophical system but a practical guide to living.

The goal of meditation is not to reach some highest place, but to remain in the place where you already are.

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

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

When you practice zazen you should not try to attain anything. You should just sit in the complete calmness of your mind and not rely on anything.