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

Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom I am swallowing the whole universe with it and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space?

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

The Dhamma unfolds in accordance with a definite sequence: faith, virtue, learning, generosity, wisdom, and insight.

Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.

The key to the Buddha's teaching is not grasping, not trying to hold onto things that are essentially impermanent and unstable.

This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.

Although all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, they function perfectly well.

Change is the nature of every phenomenon. Accept this truth and you will live a happy life.

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.

Whatever precious jewel there is in the heavenly worlds, there is nothing comparable to one who is awakened.

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

All experiences are preceded by mind, having mind as their master, created by mind.

The lamp of wisdom burns constantly, illuminating the nature of mind.

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

The goal of Buddhist practice is not to escape from the world but to transform our relationship with it.

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

The more we understand impermanence, the more we appreciate each moment of our lives.

Life is an art, and like perfect art it should be self-forgetting.

There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

This very body is the Buddha. And this very earth the lotus paradise.

The mind is intrinsically empty. It's empty of all that we perceive as being intrinsically "me" and "mine."

Things derive their being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves.

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

The present moment is the only moment available to us, and it is the door to all moments.

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

Sankharas are the seeds of consciousness that manifest as sensations. By observing sensations equanimously, we stop creating new sankharas.

Those who cling to perceptions and views wander the world offending people.

Don't try to push away the darkness. Just light a lamp. The darkness will disappear by itself.

If you want to know your past life, look at your present condition. If you want to know your future life, look at your present actions.

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.

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

The period of greatest gain in knowledge and experience is the most difficult period in one's life.

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.

To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things.

What is evil? Killing is evil, lying is evil, slandering is evil, abuse is evil, gossip is evil, envy is evil, hatred is evil, to cling to false doctrine is evil; all these things are evil. And what is the root of evil? Desire is the root of evil, illusion is the root of evil.

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.

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

The Noble Eightfold Path is not a path of mere intellectual understanding but a path of practice, of inner transformation.

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

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

Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows.

The ocean does not reject any water; therefore it is great. The mountain does not select its stones; therefore it is great.

The farther you enter into truth, the deeper it is.

As long as you seek for something, you will get the shadow of reality and not reality itself.

If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition; if you want to know your future life, look into your present actions.

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

True freedom is a freedom from the tyranny of our own thoughts and afflictive emotions.

Without darkness, there is no light. Without the path, there is no arrival.

Do not think you will necessarily be aware of your own enlightenment.

Karma is not fate but the law of moral causation, showing us that we are the architects of our own destiny.

The essence of all phenomena is empty and clear like space. The nature of mind is awareness-emptiness like the sun and sky.

The Buddha and all sentient beings are nothing but expressions of the one mind. There is nothing else.

The Buddha's path is not about becoming somebody different but about becoming more and more who you really are.

Happiness is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you've got.

The truth of suffering is not to be feared but to be understood through direct observation.

When mindfulness becomes continuous, the distinction between the observer and the observed begins to break down.

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

Peace is not found by changing the world, but by changing your attitude to the world.