I am a simple Buddhist monk – no more, no less.

Better than a thousand sayings Made up of useless wordsIs one word of meaning Which calms you to hear it.

The victorious ones have saidThat emptiness is the relinquishing of all views.For whomever emptiness is a view,That one has achieved nothing.

Very much so.

If a person shows anger to you, and you show anger in return, the result is disaster. If you nurse hatred, you will never be happy, even in the lap of luxury. By contrast, if...

If there is no wound in your hand You can carry poison in your hand.Poison does not attack one who is unwounded. There is no evil for one who does not do evil.

Pain is not wrong. Reacting to pain as wrong initiates the trance of unworthiness. The moment we believe something is wrong, our world shrinks and we lose ourselves in the effort to combat the pain.

It is neither just the religious, the spiritual, the power-hungry, the evil, the ignorant, the corrupt, the Christian, the Muslim, the Hindu, the Buddhist, the Jew, nor the atheist that makes a hypocrite, but being...

True change is within; leave the outside as it is.

One who utters speech that isn’t rough But instructive and truthfulSo that he offends no one, Him I call Brahmin.

As I cooked in the cauldron of motherhood, the incredible love I felt for my children opened my heart and brought me a much greater understanding of universal love. It made me understand the suffering...

According to your holy book, every single Buddhist, Jew, Hindu, Muslim, follower of various minor traditions or sects, those who do not affiliate themselves with a religious tradition and the approximately 2.74 billion humans who...

I believe in kindness and karma—which could make me a Buddhist. I believe in mystic healing and crystals’ powers—which could make me a witch. I believe in truth, honor, and forgiveness—which could make me a...

There’s a mess inside you: You clean the outside.

No sane person fears nothingness.

But even though there´s no more hope, again there´s no need to harm yourself, despite your feeling as if there´s no ground beneath you and no choice in any direction. But when we do let...

Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.

Though you might conquer in battle A thousand times a thousand men,You’re the greatest battle-winner If you conquer just one – yourself.

The means and the results, the good and the bad, are within all of us who are aware and care.

Sing before the spirits and dance with the earth deitiesAnd you will be able to compose your own tune.Then you and I, united, will clap hands joyously,Singing ‘tum-tiddly-um tum-tiddly-um-tum.

Standing DeerAs the house of a personin age sometimes grows clutteredwith what istoo loved or too heavy to part with,the heart may grow cluttered.And still the house will be emptied,and still the heart.As the thoughts...

The aware do not die; The unaware are as though dead already.

Too lazy to be ambitious,I let the world take care of itself.Ten days’ worth of rice in my bag;a bundle of twigs by the fireplace.Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?Listening to the night rain on...

True wisdom is being able to say ‘it is what it is’ with a smile of celebratory wonder on your face.

I do not believe in religion, but if I had to choose one, it would be Buddhism. It seems more livable, closer to men.

If you are a Buddhist, inspire yourself by thinking of the bodhisattva. If you are a Christian, think of the Christ, who came not to be served by others but to serve them in joy,...

Though you recite much scripture, If you are unaware and do not act accordingYou are like a cowherd counting others’ cattle, Not a sharer in the wanderer’s life.

It seems the guys who are best at sex approach it with the serenity of a Buddhist monk. They are never going to beg for it and when the time is right (and all signs...

The sacred stillness of your brilliant hearthas as the myriad wonders masqueraded.But if you knew this secret from the start,then you’d have quit this Game before you played it.

In general, I call her every night, and we talk for an hour, which is forty-five minutes of me, and fifteen minutes of her stirring her tea, which she steeps with the kind of Zen...

I do some compassionate mindfulness every day. It’s like a Buddhist thing. I tell myself that I’m doing a good job, that kind of thing. It makes me feel better.

But the scent of the good is blown against the wind: A good man perfumes all directions.

message of truth” found in all of us, that binds theology—holistic virtues combined with purpose is the foundation of spiritual evolution. The diversity among us all is not divided truth, but the opportunity for unity...

I don’t know whether I believe in God or not. I think, really, I’m some kind of a Buddhist. But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close...

The fool who knows his folly Becomes wise by that fact.But the fool who thinks he’s wise – He’s called ‘a fool’ indeed!

Meditation is doing what you are doing – whether you are doing formal meditation or child care.

In the village, a sage should go about Like a bee, which, not harmingFlower, colour or scent, Flies off with the nectar.

Activities such as chanting, bowing, and sitting in zazen are not at all wasted, even when done merely formally, for even this superficial encounter with the Dharma will have some wholesome outcome at a later...

A person of little knowledge Grows old as a plough-ox grows old.His fleshes increases; His wisdom does not increase.

War can condition a person to be resilient, tolerant, dependable, strong, and capable of so much more than one who had experienced nothing of it; it can bring out the very best in us, but...

Every living thing is sacred to me. Compassion and love can heal this world, which is set on fire of violence and hatred. I will teach the world about compassion, and end the suffering by...

I sit down and say, and I run all my friends and relatives and enemies one by one in this, without entertaining any angers or gratitudes or anything, and I say, like ‘Japhy Ryder, equally...

From the dear comes grief; From the dear comes fear.If you’re freed from the dear You’ll have no grief, let alone fear.

Meditation is not just blissing out under a mango tree. It completely changes your brain and therefore changes what you are.

I like change. There’s something Buddhist about it – continuous change is wonderful.