Mindfulness is the gentle effort to be continuously present with experience.

Should you desire the great tranquility, prepare to sweat white beads.

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

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.

The zazen I speak of is not meditation practice. It is simply the dharma gate of joyful ease.

The problem is not the problem; the problem is your attitude about the problem.

Personal experience is everything in Zen. No ideas are intelligible to those who have no backing of experience.

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

When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect toward others.

The dharma is not in the books. If you want to find the dharma, look in your mind.

Let none find fault with others; let none see the omissions and commissions of others. But let one see one's own acts, done and undone.

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

When we rest in awareness, we discover a peace that is always present, regardless of circumstances.

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

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

Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed, do not squander your life.

You are the master of your own mind. You can be your best friend or your worst enemy.

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

Don't expect or desire anything. Just keep noting whatever arises in the present moment.

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

A good friend who points out mistakes and imperfections and rebukes evil is to be respected as if he reveals a secret of hidden treasure.

There is no need to have a deep understanding of Zen. Even though you read much Zen literature, you must read each sentence with a fresh mind.

In the monastery of your body, the monk of your mind must stay in retreat.

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.

If you cannot find the truth right where you are, where else do you expect to find it?

The development of wisdom requires both study and practice, both learning and direct experience.

The most profound meditation is to think nothing at all.

Mindfulness is attention to life, and life itself is sacred.

True peace comes not from controlling the world, but from letting go of control.

Compassion is not mere sentiment but a powerful force that can transform both ourselves and others.

Drop by drop is the water pot filled. Likewise, the wise man, gathering it little by little, fills himself with good.

Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation.

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

If your compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete.

Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life, even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.

Do everything with a mind that lets go. Don't accept praise or gain or anything else. If you let go a little, you will have a little peace; if you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.

Understanding at the intellectual level is not enough. There must be experience at the actual level.

No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now.

The best way to control people is to encourage them to be mischievous. Then they will be in control in a wider sense.

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

The yogi's joy is in the solitude of mountains, where all distractions naturally dissolve into emptiness.

Meditation is not just about sitting quietly, it's about transforming the mind.

Study the Buddha's teaching which is present in every moment.

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

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

In the end, just three things matter: How well we have lived, how well we have loved, how well we have learned to let go.

Like a fine flower, beautiful to look at but without scent, fine words are fruitless in a man who does not act in accordance with them.

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

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

When you let go of trying to control everything, you can relax and enjoy life.

The most important point is to accept yourself and stand on your two feet.

Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer evil with good. Conquer stinginess with giving. Conquer deceit with truth.

Just as treasures are uncovered from the earth, so virtue appears from good deeds, and wisdom appears from a pure and peaceful mind.

Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

Compassion is a verb.

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.

The cultivation of loving-kindness is the thread that runs through all Buddhist teachings.

True love is not for the faint-hearted.

The dharma is not outside of you. Looking for it elsewhere is like placing a Buddha on your head while searching for him everywhere else.

Silence is so much more productive of wisdom and clarity than thinking.