The path to enlightenment is not a path at all. It is a realization that where you are is where you have always been.

Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth.

As a flower that is lovely and beautiful, but is scentless, even so fruitless is the well-spoken word of one who does not practice it.

If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever.

For whom emptiness is possible, everything is possible. For whom emptiness is not possible, nothing is possible.

Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them.

Face your own anger and you will be free from anger. Face your own fears and you will be free from fear.

The path is not about perfecting ourselves, but about perfecting our love.

We need to learn to let our emotions pass through us like waves, without getting caught in their undertow.

The mind is everything. What you think, you become.

The mind that notes and the object that is noted are both impermanent. Understanding this leads to liberation.

The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.

The development of insight is gradual, but the realization of truth is sudden.

When both body and mind are at peace, all things appear as they are: perfect, complete, lacking nothing.

The essence of the teaching is emptiness and compassion. Without emptiness, compassion can become attachment. Without compassion, emptiness can become cold and distant.

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

Since all things are empty of inherent existence, anything is possible. If things had inherent existence, nothing would be possible.

The root of suffering is attachment.

Conquer anger with non-anger. Conquer evil with good. Conquer stinginess with giving. Conquer deceit with truth.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

The precious pot containing my riches becomes my teacher in the very moment it breaks.

The most precious gift we can offer others is our presence. When mindfulness embraces those we love, they will bloom like flowers.

The practitioner and practice are like fire and wood. The more you practice, the more you burn.

The root of suffering is not in the world outside us but in our own minds.

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. If you let go completely, you will have complete peace.

As rain breaks through an ill-thatched house, passion will break through an unreflecting mind.

Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation.

Wisdom arises when you see the true characteristics of phenomena through direct experience.

Devotion is the head of meditation, as is often said. When you are inspired by some spiritual teacher, you can have a very strong connection with that person, and thereby the blessings can enter.

The more you meditate, the more you understand yourself and the better friend you become to yourself.

When you see forms or hear sounds fully engaging body-and-mind, you intuit dharma intimately.

To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don't grab hold of the water, because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.

The purpose of studying Buddhism is not to study Buddhism, but to study ourselves.