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

True freedom is not the absence of commitment but the presence of choice.

To live fully is to let go and die with each step.

To carry yourself forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come forth and experience themselves is awakening.

In the beginning, nothing comes, in the middle nothing stays, in the end nothing goes.

Intrinsically all living beings are Buddhas, just as ice and water are of the same substance.

The world is its own magic.

Altruism is not a luxury, it is a necessity for the survival of humanity.

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

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.

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

The path of awakening is not about becoming who you are. Rather it is about unbecoming who you are not.

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

When the iron bird flies and horses run on wheels, the Tibetan people will be scattered like ants across the face of the earth.

The Buddha's teaching is a middle way between all extremes, between eternalism and annihilationism, between self-indulgence and self-torture.

The defilements of the mind are temporary visitors. Pure awareness is your true home.

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.

The nature of all things is like a magical illusion, a mirage, a dream, a reflection of the moon in water.

The biggest prison is the one we build in our own mind.

The Buddha's teaching is not about belief but about investigation, not about accepting but about examining.

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

The mind of the past is ungraspable; the mind of the future is ungraspable; the mind of the present is ungraspable.

To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self. To forget the self is to be enlightened by all things.

The knowledge of dissolution comes when you see both the noting mind and noted object dissolving together.

Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away.

Enlightenment is not about becoming divine. Instead, it's about becoming more fully human.

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.

Enlightenment is not about becoming something special, but about realizing what we already are.

Trees, mountains, and vines all exist in nature according to their own truth. They are born and die following their nature. They remain this way because that's what they are. They don't practice meditation or do anything special.

The most important thing is to enjoy your life - to be happy. This is the goal of Buddhist practice.

The past is just a memory. The future is just a dream. Be here now.

The nature of the mind is like the sky, and our thoughts, emotions, and experiences are like clouds passing through it.

Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.

The spiritual journey begins with the recognition that beneath our surface happiness there lies a deep inner pain.

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophical system but a practical guide to living.

Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.

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

We do not "come into" this world; we come out of it, as leaves from a tree.

You are an aperture through which the universe is looking at and exploring itself.

The practice of Buddhism is fundamentally a practice of expanding our happiness and diminishing our suffering.

The Dhamma is not a collection of doctrinal formulas but a path leading to direct insight into the nature of reality.

Past thoughts are traceless, clear, and empty. Future thoughts are unborn and fresh. The present moment abides naturally and unconstructed.

Through our eyes, the universe is perceiving itself. Through our ears, the universe is listening to its harmonies. We are the witnesses through which the universe becomes conscious of its glory, of its magnificence.

The Buddha never taught a sectarian religion; he taught Dhamma - the way to liberation - which is universal.

The path to liberation requires both individual effort and the support of the spiritual community.

All that appears and exists, all of samsara and nirvana, has one ground, two paths, and two results. This is the magical display of awareness and unawareness.

Wisdom is not something we have to strive to acquire. Rather, wisdom arises naturally as we open our hearts to the truth of what is.

Happiness is found in the simplest of things. It is not in the things you own, but in the love you share.

The more a thing tends to be permanent, the more it tends to be lifeless.

What we learn about the world is colored by the way we approach it.

The cultivation of loving-kindness is the thread that runs through all Buddhist teachings.

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.

Real happiness comes from having an unshakable connection to the deep wellspring of peace and happiness that is not dependent on external conditions.

Problems that remain persistently insoluble should always be suspected as questions asked in the wrong way.

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

The practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

All beings by nature are Buddha, as ice by nature is water. Apart from water there is no ice; apart from beings, no Buddha.

Zen is not necessarily against words, but it is well aware of their limitations.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.