When we develop patience, we find that we develop a reserve of calm and tranquility.

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.

The path of awakening is not about becoming who we think we should be, but about unbecoming who we are not.

Recognize the emptiness of all phenomena, but do not become attached to emptiness itself.

The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self.

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

Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.

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

Zazen is not step-by-step meditation. Rather it is simply the easy and pleasant practice of a Buddha, the realization of the Buddha's Wisdom.

When mindfulness is weak, defilements are strong; when mindfulness is strong, defilements are weak.

Our own life has to be our message.

The realization of impermanence leads not to despair but to a deeper appreciation of the preciousness of each moment.

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

Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that's all that's happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness--life's painful aspect--softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person.

Our basic nature is pure awareness that simply cognizes experience. Everything else is temporary and adventitious.

The more you suffer the deeper grows your character, and with the deepening of your character you read the more penetratingly into the secrets of life.

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.

You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger.

The true path is not difficult; just avoid picking and choosing.

The ultimate revolution is the spiritual revolution, where we learn to see reality as it truly is.

The goal of meditation is not to achieve a blank mind, but to gain insight into the nature of mind itself.

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

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

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.

The cultivation of loving-kindness has the power to transform enmity into amity, hostility into hospitality.

The time of the past becomes the present, the time of the present becomes the future, the time of the future becomes the present, and the time of the present becomes the past.

The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.

When you understand one thing through and through, you understand everything. When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything.

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

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.

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

Each moment of clear seeing is a moment of freedom from the illusion of permanence, satisfaction, and self.

The purpose of meditation is not to create a mental vacuum but to come to know one's own mind.