The Zen Book Quotes

“Live life in the present. This moment is the only thing that’s real. Worrying about the future and lamenting the past only crowds out the beauty of what is happening now.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“Keep in mind that everyone is doing the best they possibly can and realize that if they knew better, they’d do better—therefore, be gentle.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“Find what you want in what you have and happiness will be assured.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“A belief is not a fact; it is simply what we believe.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“In the beginning of life, we’re on fire and want to change the world. Yet as we get older, we realize how difficult that is, so we think that if we can have a positive influence on those around us, we’ll have lived a worthwhile life. As we get older still, we understand that we can change no one, and simply look for the courage to change ourselves.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“Pleasure and pain are merely states of mind, rather than situations. Every situation is neutral.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“The quicker your breath, the more agitated you are; the deeper your breath, the more relaxed you are.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“never trying to change others, but rather giving them the freedom to be as they are and seeing the beauty in them as is.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“Lift up humanity. Turn toward those who try to do you harm, and silently bless them”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“Relax. Everything will resolve itself in time— this is the way of the world.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“This moment is the only thing that’s real. Worrying about the future and lamenting the past only crowds out the beauty of what is happening now.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“What is suffering? The desire for things to be other than they are. What is contentment? Accepting everything as it is.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“Become aware of what you feel. When you see parts of yourself that you don’t like, just watch the feelings come and go without getting too caught up in what it is you’re feeling. Everything passes—these emotions will, too.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“When life becomes difficult, allow yourself to feel the pain in the moment. Go with it for as long as it lasts, and then watch it dissolve away. Pleasure and pain are merely states of mind, rather than situations. Every situation is neutral.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“Become peace. Bathe all you meet with your serenity. In doing so, peace will be abundantly yours.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“See the stars at night. They seem so small to your eyes, but their light shines for millions of miles. Be like those stars— small in your own eyes, yet radiant to all.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“In one life Buddha chose to be a deer, and he became the leader of a large herd. The king at the time was a hunter, and his subjects thought to trap some beasts in a canyon so that the king could come there to hunt. They arranged an elaborate trap and then chased two herds of deer from different directions into it. It worked flawlessly, and in a very short time thousands of deer were trapped. When the king came, he saw the majesty of the two leaders of the herds and told his subjects that they weren’t to be sacrificed. Nevertheless, the “Buddha deer” chose to be the first one sacrificed. Seeing this, the subjects of the king went to tell him that one of the leaders was volunteering to be sacrificed to save the others from being killed on that day. The king came and spoke with the Buddha deer, saying that his life was spared. But the deer would hear nothing of it, for how could he serve his herd if he could let them die so that he could live? The king agreed to set his herd free, but the Buddha deer replied, “My gracious king, I cannot walk away and allow my herd to go free, for that means that I will be the cause of suffering for all the deer of the other herd.” After much deliberation and many rounds of the Buddha deer sacrificing himself so that no other creatures would suffer, the king ended up banning all hunting of wildlife in his kingdom. He ended up building a statue of the deer on the site of this conversation to remind all that we cannot live in happiness as long as others suffer.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“Watch a mother with her baby— and care for the world with the totality of that love. Watch the river . . . the way it flows and effortlessly passes over the little impediments that get in its way. That is the way to walk through life, unencumbered by the small challenges that happen every day.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book

“Work without working, and play without playing. Do without doing, and be without being. To live an effortless life, simply be yourself.”
― Daniel Levin, The Zen Book