Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.

The practice of Dharma is a constant battle within oneself.

Your own treasure house contains everything you need; why search outside?

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.

The root of all mind is your own present pure awareness. Rest in that essence without seeking elsewhere.

The path to enlightenment is not a path at all. It is a realization that where you are is where you have always been.

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

Real peace comes from seeing things as they really are, not as we want them to be.

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

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

Zen teaches nothing; it merely enables us to wake up and become aware. It does not teach, it points.

The essence of the teaching is emptiness and compassion. Without emptiness, compassion can become attachment. Without compassion, emptiness can become cold and distant.

The purpose of a spiritual discipline is to give us a way to stop the war, not by our force of will, but through understanding and through letting go.

The role of Zen is neither to stand above life nor to run away from it, but to face it with a spirit of determination.

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

If you truly loved yourself, you could never hurt another.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

The true mark of a spiritual practitioner is that your own behavior is better, not that you can criticize others well.

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

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

When you love someone, you have to have trust and confidence. Love without trust is not yet love.

One moment can change a day, one day can change a life, and one life can change the world.

It is never too late to turn on the light.

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

The path of insight is a path of discovery, not a path of creation. We are discovering what is already there.

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

The difference between misery and happiness depends on what we do with our attention.

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

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

The restraint of the senses is not a matter of suppression but of wise attention to our experience.

As surely as there is a voyage away, there is a journey home.