Real freedom is not about controlling our experience, but about being free within our experience.

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

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself.

A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.

The person who clings to nothing of the past, present and future, who has no attachment and no aversion, has no conceptual imprints.

The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities.

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

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

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

Panic is a gateway to wisdom. When we learn to stay present with our panic, it becomes our teacher.

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

The development of wisdom does not occur in isolation but requires the cultivation of the entire Noble Eightfold Path.

The way to overcome anger is to be too busy being kind to have time to be angry.

External phenomena are like a dream, whatever appears is not real. Recognize the nature of dream-like phenomena to be dream-like.

The practice of meditation requires both energy and patience, both effort and relaxation.

The essence of mind is empty like space; yet it contains all things, like a mirror.

The lamp of wisdom burns constantly, illuminating the nature of mind.

When we recognize that our thoughts are just thoughts, we can choose whether or not to follow them.

To be attached to a thing means that mind and the thing meet and grow into each other.

When you look deeply into your anger, you will see that the person you call your enemy is also suffering. As soon as you see that, the capacity for accepting and having compassion for them is there.

Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay.

The mind creates the abyss, and the heart crosses it.

The object of meditation and the mind which knows it must be noted as they occur. If they are not noted, desire arises and disturbs concentration.

In meditation, we're not trying to get rid of thoughts but to recognize their true nature.

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

You are your own teacher. Looking for teachers can't solve your own doubts. Investigate yourself to find the truth - inside, not outside.

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

The mind is like a room with many windows. Open them all and let the fresh air in.

The mind is intrinsically empty. It's empty of all that we perceive as being intrinsically "me" and "mine."

The water in the ocean can be rough or calm. It can be clear or murky. But the water itself doesn't mind.

Every moment of confusion is also a moment of wisdom, if we can learn to recognize it.

The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.

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

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

The way we look at the world is the way the world looks.

Much of spiritual life is self-acceptance, maybe all of it.

The six realms of existence are like a dream, why build a prison for yourself?

Freedom is not found in the absence of difficulty, but in our relationship to it.

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.

In true vipassana practice, there is no room for likes and dislikes. There is only observation.

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

The grass is greener where you water it.

The basic idea of Zen is to come in touch with the inner workings of our being, and to do this in the most direct way possible, without resorting to anything external or superadded.

Misery ceases to exist when we stop reacting to sensations.

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.

Change is possible because there is nothing inherently permanent about our disturbing emotions.

The noting mind and the object noted appear to occur as a pair. Through concentration they are seen to arise and vanish together.

The most profound meditation is to think nothing at all.

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

Anxiety and excitement are the same emotion. The only difference is our attitude toward the experience.

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

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

Mind training is based on the idea that two opposite mental factors cannot happen at the same time.

The essence of bravery is being without self-deception.

The more we understand the nature of our mind, the more we understand the nature of our world.

When you run after your thoughts, you are like a dog chasing a stick. Every time a stick is thrown, you run after it. Instead, be like a lion who, rather than chasing after the stick, turns to face the thrower.

For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.

Start from where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.

Concentration develops naturally through continuous noting. Don't try to force concentration to arise.

The whole path of mindfulness is about letting go. We let go of our attachment to our views, our attachment to our opinions, our attachment to our ideas.