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.

The practice of mindfulness is the practice of being alive in the present moment.

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

As long as our orientation is toward perfection or success, we will never learn about unconditional friendship with ourselves, nor will we find compassion.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

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

Meditation is not about trying to change ourselves. Meditation is about being aware of what is.

The technique of self-observation is the technique of observing the reality about oneself at the experiential level.

Life is nothing but a continuous chain of sensations. Pleasant or unpleasant, observe them objectively.

Insight knowledge comes from direct experience, not from intellectual understanding.

The moment you note a thought, it disappears. The noting mind keeps the hindrances away.

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

Face your own anger and you will be free from anger. Face your own fears and you will be free from fear.

Metta is the ability to embrace all parts of ourselves, as well as all parts of the world.

The treasure house within you contains everything, and you are free to use it. You don't need to seek outside.

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

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

The practice of mindfulness transforms the mind from a place of suffering into an instrument of enlightenment.

Technical knowledge is not enough. One must transcend techniques so that the art becomes an artless art, growing out of the unconscious.

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

Compassion is not something we develop. It arises naturally as we see the truth of what is.

Don't be a bodhisatta; don't be an arahant; don't be anything at all. Being something makes you suffer.

The archer ceases to be conscious of himself as the one who is engaged in hitting the bull's-eye which confronts him. This state of unconsciousness is realized only when, completely empty and rid of the self, he becomes one with the perfecting of his technical skill.

Meditation is not an escape from life but a way to fully engage with life.

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

The force of the kindness of others is so strong, we can't possibly measure it.

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

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced mind that sees things clearly without reaction.

The practice of metta begins with oneself, for only when we have developed loving-kindness towards ourselves can we truly offer it to others.

The first step toward faith is to admit that we don't know everything.

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.

Anger or hatred is like a fisherman's hook. It is very important for us to ensure that we are not caught by it.

The master's introduction is direct recognition of one's own nature. Meditation is maintaining the continuity of this recognition.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

We need to learn to let our emotions pass through us like waves, without getting caught in their undertow.

The practice of vipassana is the study of the self. When you study physical and mental phenomena, you are studying the truth about yourself.

Each moment of noting is a moment of purification, a moment of cultivating the path.

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

The greatest achievement is selflessness. The greatest worth is self-mastery.

The willingness to empty ourselves and then seek our true nature is an expression of great and courageous love.

The practice of mindfulness begins in the small, remote cave of your unconscious mind and blossoms with the sunlight of your conscious life.

Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good.

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 greatest obstacle to meditation is our expectation about what it should be.

The three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

Let go of what has passed. Let go of what may come. Let go of what is happening now. Don't try to figure anything out. Don't try to make anything happen. Relax, right now, and rest.

Meditation is like catching a fish. If you try to catch it quickly, you'll miss it. If you have patience and know how to wait, the fish will come.

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

Kindness is the solution to all of life's problems.

Concentration and insight are like two wings of a bird: both are necessary for the flight to liberation.

The practice of mindfulness leads naturally to concentration. Concentration leads naturally to wisdom.

When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.

The quieter you become, the more you can hear.

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

When walking, just walk. When sitting, just sit. Above all, don't wobble.

In the moment of love, awareness is very strong. Use that awareness, that strength of consciousness, to look into yourself.

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

There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

Buddhist practice is not to eliminate life's problems but to grow with them patiently and with compassion.