Compassion is a verb.

Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.

Ethical conduct is not a constraint upon our freedom but a condition of our freedom.

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.

Dependent origination is not a theory about the origin of the world but a teaching that shows how suffering originates in dependence on our own mental processes.

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

Only to the extent that we expose ourselves over and over to annihilation can that which is indestructible be found in us.

The stages of insight unfold naturally when mindfulness is continuous. There is no need to desire them or try to make them happen.

Choose to be optimistic, it feels better.

When you generate negativity, you are the first victim of your negativity.

Meditation is not an escape from reality but a way to understand reality as it truly is.

Happiness is a skill that can be developed like playing an instrument or learning to read.

The key to transformation is not to fight with our experience but to open to it with awareness.

In my youth I studied, in my prime I practiced, now all my doubts are cleared.

Our task is not to seek for love but to find all the barriers within ourselves that we have built against it.

The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

Ardently do today what must be done. Who knows? Tomorrow, death comes.

Liberation is found in the practice, not in the theory.

The root of suffering is not in the world outside us but in our own minds.

The nature of mind is the unity of awareness and emptiness.

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.

There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.

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

In Zen there must be satori; there must be a general mental upheaval which destroys the old accumulations of intellection and lays down the foundation for a new life.

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

The ultimate source of a happy life is warm-heartedness. This means extending to others the kind of concern we have for ourselves.

When concentration is developed, wisdom arises. When wisdom arises, one becomes disenchanted with the five aggregates.

People take different roads seeking fulfillment and happiness. Just because they're not on your road doesn't mean they've gotten lost.

We need the courage to learn from our experience and the wisdom to be willing to change and grow.

True happiness is not found through the multiplication of desires but through their simplification.

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.

Enlightenment is not about becoming something special, but about realizing what we already are.