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

The path to liberation requires both understanding and practice, both pariyatti and patipatti.

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

Don't be afraid of the future. The future is good.

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

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

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

The grass is greener where you water it.

Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law.

The mind is the forerunner of all things. Our present life is the result of our past thoughts, and our future life will be the result of our present thoughts.

Mindfulness is being aware of what is happening right now, without wishing it were different.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

Wisdom arises when you see the true characteristics of phenomena through direct experience.

Those who understand interdependent origination understand suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

We practice to learn how to let go, not how to increase our holding on to things.

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

Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong.

The goal of Buddhist practice is not to escape from the world but to transform our relationship with it.

When mindfulness becomes continuous, the distinction between the observer and the observed begins to break down.

A pure mind is always full of love - real love for all others.

The development of insight is gradual, but the realization of truth is sudden.

The Buddha's teachings are not a religion, but a science of mind.

Right View is not just a matter of intellectual understanding but of seeing things as they really are.

Just as true humor is laughter at oneself, true humanity is knowledge of oneself.

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

To live fully is to let go and die with each step.

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.

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 teaching of the Buddha is based on two truths: conventional truth and ultimate truth. Without understanding the relationship between these two, the deeper meaning of the Buddha's teaching cannot be understood.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

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. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.

The path of practice requires both faith and wisdom, both devotion and understanding.

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

Since all things are empty of inherent existence, anything is possible. If things had inherent existence, nothing would be possible.

The practice of meditation is not about achieving states of bliss but about seeing things as they really are.

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.

Life is available only in the present moment.

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

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.

Happiness is not the pursuit of an endless succession of experiences but an attitude toward life.

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

Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

To be in harmony with the wholeness of things is not to have anxiety over imperfection.

Many people think excitement is happiness... But when you are excited you are not peaceful. True happiness is based on peace.

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

Enlightenment is not the end of change but the end of resistance to change.

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

Happiness is found in the simplest of things. It is not in the things you own, but in the love you share.

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

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look into your present actions.

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

Whatever is happening is the path to enlightenment.

Things derive their being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves.

Rejoicing in ordinary things is not sentimental or trite. It actually takes guts.

Forgiveness is letting go of the hope that the past could have been any different.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophical system but a practical guide to living.

You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.

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

The root of suffering is resisting the certainty that no matter what the circumstances, uncertainty is all we truly have.