Ethical conduct is not a constraint upon our freedom but a condition of our freedom.

Life and death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed, do not squander your life.

When concentration is developed, wisdom arises. When wisdom arises, one becomes disenchanted with the five aggregates.

Genuine happiness comes from having developed basic human qualities, such as attention, emotional balance, and generosity.

Loving-kindness is not something we need to manufacture. It's a natural expression of our awakened nature.

In Zen there must be satori; there must be a general mental upheaval which destroys the old accumulations of intellection and lays down the foundation for a new life.

Our true nature is like a diamond - pure, brilliant, and indestructible. No matter how much dirt covers it, its essential nature remains unchanged.

Whatever is dependently co-arisen, that is explained to be emptiness. That, being a dependent designation, is itself the middle way.

Just as the great ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, so also this teaching and discipline has one taste, the taste of liberation.

It is never too late to turn on the light.

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.

Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment.

Breathing in, there is only the present moment. Breathing out, it is a wonderful moment.

The victorious ones have said that emptiness is the relinquishing of all views. Those who are possessed of the view of emptiness are said to be incurable.

Zen in its essence is the art of seeing into the nature of one's own being, and it points the way from bondage to freedom.

The more we understand the nature of our mind, the more we understand the nature of our world.

The deepest happiness comes from having an enduring sense of purpose, one that gives our lives meaning beyond the endless pursuit of pleasure and success.

The more you are motivated by love, the more fearless and free your actions will be.

The more you give, the more you have. That's the economics of kindness.

Just observe whatever arises. Don't try to create anything, and don't reject anything.

For things to reveal themselves to us, we need to be ready to abandon our views about them.

Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.

The obstacle is the path.

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

The world is its own magic.

The perfect moment is this one, not the one you're waiting for.

When you find your place where you are, practice occurs, actualizing the fundamental point.

The true hero is one who conquers his own anger and hatred.

The awareness that you are here, right now, is the ultimate fact.

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

Faith is not a commodity that you either have or don't have - it is an inner quality that unfolds as we learn to trust our own deepest experience.

Dependent origination is not a theory about the origin of the world but a teaching that shows how suffering originates in dependence on our own mental processes.