Over 100 of my favorite “mindfulness” quotes

This page contains a list of my favorite mindfulness quotes. Most of these are short, concise quotes that help bring me back to the present moment, and work well with my “Just Be” mobile app.

Update: I have replaced my Just Be application — which was written for Android only — with a new application I call Back To Now, which runs on both Android and iOS.

Background: Just Be

Just Be was a mobile mindfulness app that I created for Android users. This is what the reminders/notifications look like when you receive them on an Android phone or tablet:

As you can imagine, the quality of the app depends on the quality of the mindfulness reminders you add to it. So, to help people use the app, I’ve put together the following list of mindfulness quotes.

A note about quote attributions

In the mindfulness quotes that follow, I attribute each quote to the original source when I know that source. I’ve modified a few of the quotes because I think the altered version works better with the Just Be app. In the cases where I have done this, I show the original author’s initials in quotes. Here are the initials I use in the text below:

• “HHDL” is His Holiness the Dalai Lama
• “JKZ” is Jon Kabat Zinn
• “SS” is Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki
• “TNH” is Thich Nhat Hanh
• “ZMSS” is Zen Master Seung Sahn
• “SNM” is Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

My favorite mindfulness quotes

My favorite mindfulness quotes vary over time, but I always like the quotes that bring me back to the present moment when I see them. A few of the quotes on this page are also intended to help keep my ego in check.

My favorite current quotes are:

• Just breathe
• Do every act of your life as though it is the last act of your life.
• Be here now. (Ram Dass)
• Be right here, right now.
• Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet. (Thich Nhat Hanh)
   
• There is only Now.
• Go through your day as if you are the Dalai Lama undercover.
• Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you have chosen it. (Eckhart Tolle)
• What sensations do you feel right now? Are you hot, or cold? What do you hear in this moment?
• As you breathe in, imagine you are in a fragrant garden of roses.
   
• Breathe and let be. (JKZ)
• Breathe in deeply. Bring your mind home to your body. (TNH)
• Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. (HHDL)
• Establish yourself in the present moment. (TNH)
• Pay attention to the present moment, on purpose, without judgment. (Jon Kabat Zinn)
   
• Your body is present; is your mind?
• Be a witness, not a judge. (Rumi)
• I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within. (Rumi)
• Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else. (SS)
• Leave your front door and back door open. Let your thoughts come and go; just don’t serve them tea. (SS)
   
• When you do something, burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself. (SS)
• “Battle!” (This comes from the movie Michael. I like it as a reminder to put everything I have into the present task. (It also happens to be something a co-worker and I were yelling at work the day before he died.))
• Attention!
• Breathing in, I calm my body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. (TNH)
• In meditation, be like a cat purring. (Tai Sheridan)
• Be a witness, not a judge. (Rumi)
   
• Breathe in deeply. Bring your mind home to your body. (TNH)
• If we do not practice mindfulness while carrying a bucket of water, it is a waste of time to seclude ourselves in a monastery. (TNH)
• If you want to know your own mind, there is only one way: to observe and recognize everything about it. This must be done at all times, during your day-to-day life no less than during the hour of meditation. (TNH)
• The present moment is all you ever have. (ET)
• Let go of thought. Become still and alert. (ET)
   
• Give up all questions except one: constantly ask, “Who am I?” (SNM)
• When the mind is quiet, we come to know ourselves as the pure witness. (SNM)
• You need nothing more, just remember that you are the witness only. (SNM)
• The ‘person’ is merely the result of a misunderstanding. (SNM)
• Abandon all sense of separation, see yourself in all, and act accordingly. (SNM)
   
• There is only light and the light is all. Everything else is but a picture made of light. (SNM)
• I am detached and see the passing show as a passing show. (SNM)
• I am in the world, but not concerned with it. I am going through the marketplace, but not as a purchaser. (Maharaji, quoting Kabir)

Rumi

The following mindfulness quotes are attributed to Rumi:

• You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.
• Be a witness, not a judge.
• Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.
• Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.
• My religion is love.
   
• Listen to your heart, not the crowd.
• The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear.
• I am not this hair, I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within.
• I smile like a flower not only with my lips but with my whole being.
• You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.
   
• Past and future veil God from our sight; burn up both of them with fire.
• If everything around seems dark, look again. You may be the light.
• You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.
• Love is the bridge between you and everything.

Ram Dass

The following mindfulness quotes are attributed to Ram Dass:

• Be here now.
• When you know how to listen, everybody is the guru.
• We’re all just walking each other home.
• Causing suffering to others is causing suffering to yourself.
• Every person you look at is a soul.
   
• Treat everyone you meet as if they are God in drag.
• I am not this body. I am in this body, and this is part of my incarnation and I honor it, but that isn’t who I am.
• When you are fully in the moment, this moment is all there is.
• The next message you need is always right where you are.
• If you think you’re enlightened, go spend a week with your family.
   
• As you dissolve into love, your ego fades.
• If you think you're free, there's no escape possible.
• (Like Hanuman) your own leap comes from giving up the model of who you think you are.
• I would like my life to be a statement of love and compassion.
• Suffering is part of our training program for becoming wise.
   
• Hard times are the sandpaper of our incarnation. They shape us.
• When we’re identified with Awareness, we’re no longer living in a world of polarities. Everything is present at the same time.
• (Like Hanuman) your own leap comes from giving up the model of who you think you are.
• Grace is at the nexus of love and awareness. There it’s all open and it’s all love.
• When you are fully in the moment, this moment is all there is.
   
• As you dissolve into love, your ego fades.

Eckhart Tolle

The following mindfulness quotes are attributed to Eckhart Tolle:

• The present moment is all you ever have.
• Let go of thought. Become still and alert.
• Get the inside right. The outside will fall into place.
• All problems are illusions of the mind.
• If not now, when?
   
• The whole essence of Zen consists in walking along the razor’s edge of Now.
• Find the life underneath your life situation.
• You cannot be both unhappy and fully present in the Now.
• Give your fullest attention to whatever the moment presents.
• Do not be concerned with the fruits of your action, just give attention to the action itself. (Bhagavad Gita)

Zen

The following quotes come from the world of Zen:

• Om mani padme hum
• Gate, gate, paragate, parasamgate, bodhi svaha (Heart Sutra)
• What am I? (ZMSS)
• All things that appear in this world are illusion. If you view all appearance as nonappearance, then you will see your true nature.
• When hungry, eat. When tired, sleep.
• If you understand Zen, all work is the same. (may be ZMSS)

Zen Master Seung Sahn (ZMSS)

The following mindfulness quotes are attributed to Zen Master Seung Sahn:

• Only go straight — don’t know.
• When reading, only read. When eating, only eat. When thinking, only think.
• You must become completely crazy.
• Zen mind is before thinking. If already you are thinking, it is too late.
• Where are you going carrying your bowls?
   
• Zen is keeping the mind which is before thinking.
• Always keep “Don’t know” mind.
• Great faith. Great courage. Great questioning. (Also known as “great faith, great doubt, and great determination.”)
• When you are not thinking, all things are the same.
• Who is the master of this body, and where does he reside?
   
• What am I?
• You must first understand that form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Then, no form, no emptiness.
• Great doubt is don’t-know.
• Your eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind all deceive you. The true you is without the six senses.
• I though you were a keen-eyed lion.

Shunryu Suzuki

The following mindfulness quotes are attributed to Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki:

• Treat every moment as your last. It is not preparation for something else.
• Leave your front door and back door open. Let your thoughts come and go. Just don’t serve them tea.
• When you do something, burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.
• You must exist right here, right now.
• Express yourself as you are.
   
• What we call “I” is just a swinging door which moves when we inhale and exhale.
• When you sit, everything sits with you.
• Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine.

Buddha

• Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future. Concentrate on the present moment.
• What you think, you become.
• Nothing is permanent, everything changes.

Ramana Maharshi

• Seeking the source of ‘I’ serves as a means of getting rid of all other thoughts.
• Seek the mind. On being sought, it will disappear.
• Surrender itself is a mighty prayer.
• When the one who asks for the nature of samadhi and the method of getting into it vanishes, samadhi will result.
• You are already that which you seek.
   
• Let come what comes, let go what goes. See what remains.
• When there is no “I” there is no karma.
• You are awareness. Awareness is another name for you.
• You are already That which you seek.
• There is no doubt whatsoever that the universe is the merest illusion.
   
• No one succeeds without effort. Those who succeed owe their success to perseverance.
• There is neither Past nor Future. There is only the Present.

Shinzen Young

These are some quotes from one of my favorite modern teachers, Shinzen Young:

• I’d rather have one day knowing what I know than a lifetime of not being able to know this.
• Noting Gone can lead to a spontaneous sense of oneness with — and commitment to — all beings.
• You are not your thoughts ... Observing the thoughts is the beginning of ending them.

Shinzen also said something like these (which are not exact quotes):

• Just like you sharpen an axe so it is a more effective tool, you meditate so that your brain and your concentration are also more effective.
• Try to listen to your mental talk in your head just like it’s a sound in nature, like listening to a bird. In this way, “you” can observe the thoughts in your head as the fly by, without getting attached to them.
• In regards to your awareness, you can think of it in two different ways: (a) aiming your attention at a spot/area, or (b) hugging a friend.
• Listen to your thoughts as an observer, like sitting in an open field and listening to sounds in nature.
• Consciousness == Sensory Experience

This long quote also comes from Shinzen Young’s book:

“Finally, I got it! The menial tasks I had been assigned to around the temple were meant to be an exercise in meditation. Whether washing dishes or cleaning toilets, my job was to try to stay in samadhi.

Suddenly it all made sense. I stopped thinking of my jobs in the temple as a meaningless waste of time and began to see them as fascinating challenges. Everything shifted: ‘How deep can I get this morning as I wash these dishes? How deep can I stay as I rake the sand?’”

Mindfulness quotes related to simple chores

• Clean the floor with love. (Osho)
• Do one thing at a time.
• Life is available only in the present moment.
• Drink your tea slowly and reverently. (TNH)
• Each time for the first time, each moment the only moment. (JKZ)
   
• Zen is not some kind of excitement, but concentration on our usual everyday routine. (SS)
• Do dishes, rake leaves.
• Chop wood, carry water.
• Have you eaten your porridge? / Yes, I have. / Then you better wash your bowl.
• Do the laundry without resentment or commentary. (From this article.)
   
• In the beginning, meditation is something that happens within your day. Eventually, the day becomes something that happens within your meditation. (Shinzen Young)
• Always perform the work that has to be done without attachment. (Bhagavad Gita)
• Do not be concerned with the fruits of your action, just give attention to the action itself. (Bhagavad Gita)

Miscellaneous mindfulness quotes

I haven’t organized the following mindfulness quotes yet:

• We have only now. (Jack Kornfield)
• Where is my mind right now?
• What am I?
• Who is breathing?
• Attention
   
• Pay attention
• Focus on your breath
• Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor. (Thich Nhat Hanh)
• An attitude of gratitude makes the space for grace.
• Be happy in the moment, that’s enough. Each moment is all we need, not more. (Mother Teresa)
   
• When breathing, just breathe.
• You are the sky. Everything else, it’s just the weather.
• YOLO
• When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you. (Lao Tzu)
• If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. (HHDL)
   
• Live in the moment, live in the breath. (Amit Ray)
• The words you speak become the house you live in. (Hafiz)
• Nothing can bring you peace but yourself.
• Be the change you want to see in the world. (Gandhi)
• You can’t stop the waves, but you can learn to surf. (JKZ)
   
• Only open your mouth if what you are going to say is more beautiful than silence.
• Just be in this moment.
• Let go of thinking.
• Put it all down, let it all go.

Motivational quotes

The following quotes are mindfulness quotes, and I also like them as “motivational” quotes:

• Don’t compare or compete, just do your best in the present moment.
• Be the change you want to see in the world. (Gandhi)

Quotes about awakening and enlightenment

Here are a few quotes related to enlightenment, awakening, being a Yogi (or Yogini), consciousness, and more:

• “A Yogi is one who has union with the supreme consciousness.”
  ~ Yogi Bhajan
   
• “Samadhi is the culmination of yoga; it is a state of bliss and union with the universal spirit.”
  ~ B.K.S. Iyengar
   
• “Seeing into one’s own nature is the goal of Zen.”
  ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
   
• “Enlightenment always comes after the road of thinking is blocked.”
  ~ from the book, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
   
• “In enlightenment, death has no relevance to one’s state of being.”
  ~ Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche
   
• “The world of the senses is real, but it must be known for what it is: unity appearing as multiplicity.”
  ~ from a Bhagavad Gita translation
   
• “Just remember that you are the witness only ... even for a moment, do not think that you are the body.”
  ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
   
• “Once you know that death happens to the body and not to you, you just watch your body falling off like a discarded garment ... The real you is timeless and beyond birth and death. The body will survive as long as it is needed. It is not important that it should live long.”
  ~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Summary

I hope you like these mindfulness quotes. I know that I appreciate anything that brings me back to the present moment.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I wrote my Back To Now app as a way of using these quotes as notifications. That works pretty well for me.

Another thing I like to do is to write these quotes down on index cards. I then keep those index cards on my work desk, and every day I either choose a quote that’s important to me that day (or that hour), or else I shuffle them and choose one at random. All of these approaches help in my mindfulness practice.

Namaste,
Alvin Alexander