The spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell.

What Zen wants us to do is to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature.

Just observe whatever arises. Don't try to create anything, and don't reject anything.

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.

The practitioner and practice are like fire and wood. The more you practice, the more you burn.

The only reason we don't open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don't feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with.

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

Peace is within oneself to be found in the same place as agitation and suffering. It is not found in a forest or on a hilltop, nor is it given by a teacher.

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

Reality is only a Rorschach ink-blot, you know.

Mindfulness helps us get better at seeing the difference between what's happening and the stories we tell ourselves about what's happening.

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

The essence of Buddhist practice is to reduce our selfishness and to work for the benefit of others.

The Four Noble Truths are not merely theoretical propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our experience.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophy or a religion; it is a method of practice.

Like a dream, like an illusion, like a city of gandharvas, that's how birth, and that's how living, that's how dying are taught to be.

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

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

Every sensation shares the same characteristic - arising, passing. Arising, passing. Learn to observe objectively.

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

Faith is not a commodity that you either have or don't have - it is an inner quality that unfolds as we learn to trust our own deepest experience.

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

Sensations are not your enemy. They are your teacher. Through observing them, you understand the truth of existence.

In the gap between thoughts, nonconceptual wisdom shines continuously.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy, and happiness is found in benefiting others.

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

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

The affairs of the world will go on forever. Do not delay the practice of meditation.

Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation.

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