Love is the wish that others be happy, and compassion is the wish that they be free from suffering.

Few among men are they who cross to the further shore. The others merely run up and down the bank on this side.

Zen is a way of life, not a theory or a piece of knowledge to be stored away in our minds.

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

Like a dream, like an illusion, like a city of gandharvas, that's how birth, and that's how living, that's how dying are taught to be.

Liberation is not found by running away from our experience but by looking deeply into it.

The Buddha taught us to leave alone the things that don't lead to awakening.

Emptiness is not nothingness. Emptiness is the space of possibility.

The person who clings to nothing of the past, present and future, who has no attachment and no aversion, has no conceptual imprints.

Life is like stepping onto a boat which is about to sail out to sea and sink.

Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.

Meditation is the road to happiness.

The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.

The more you understand yourself, the more you understand the world.

The root of suffering is attachment.

Rather than letting our negativity get the better of us, we could acknowledge that right now we feel like a piece of shit and not be squeamish about taking a good look.

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

World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.

The purpose of our lives is to be happy, and happiness is found in benefiting others.

The way is basically perfect. It is not a matter of practice or enlightenment.

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

The practice of mindfulness leads naturally to concentration. Concentration leads naturally to wisdom.

The more you understand, the more you love; the more you love, the more you understand.

The treasure house within you contains everything, and you are free to use it. You don't need to seek outside.

The four foundations of mindfulness are not separate practices but different aspects of the same practice of clear awareness.

If you want to climb a mountain, begin at the top.

The practice is simply this: keep coming back to your breath during the day. This will give your mind a steadiness and your life a balance.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax.

The purpose of life is to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is not to be well known, cited, or powerful.

At the bottom of great doubt lies great awakening. If you doubt fully, you will awaken fully.

The more clearly you see the arising and passing of phenomena, the less you will be attached to them.

Where is the place that your original face has not yet emerged?

The experience of emptiness engenders compassion.