The basic teaching of Buddhism is the teaching of transiency, or change.

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

When we understand that peace is not dependent on external conditions, we can find it in the midst of any circumstance.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

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

To live – is that not enough? To love – is that not everything?

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.

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.

The secret of happiness lies not in getting what we want, but in learning to want what we already have.

If you want to know the past, look at the present. If you want to know the future, look at the present.

The nature of everything is empty and clear, and the mind is beyond both existence and nonexistence.

The nature of mind is not something we need to achieve - it's something we need to recognize.

The essence of mind is empty like space; yet it contains all things, like a mirror.

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

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

The three characteristics - impermanence, suffering, and non-self - are not philosophical concepts but aspects of experience to be directly observed.

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

The Buddha's teachings are not a religion, but a science of mind.

The mind is like water. When it's turbulent, it's difficult to see. When it's calm, everything becomes clear.

The path to liberation requires both understanding and practice, both pariyatti and patipatti.

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

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

Looking for peace is like looking for a turtle with a mustache: you won't be able to find it. But when your heart is ready, peace will come looking for you.

Emptiness which is conceptually liable to be mistaken for sheer nothingness is in fact the reservoir of infinite possibilities.

By understanding emptiness, one understands all phenomena. Without understanding emptiness, one understands nothing.

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.

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

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

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

External phenomena are like a dream, whatever appears is not real. Recognize the nature of dream-like phenomena to be dream-like.

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

The path to liberation is through understanding the true nature of mind and matter through direct observation.

Life is like a cup of tea. It's all in how you make it.

The mind is the root from which all things grow. If you can understand the mind, everything else is included.

My actions are my only true belongings. I cannot escape the consequences of my actions. My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

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

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

Enlightenment is not the end of change but the end of resistance to change.

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

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

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

The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.

Happiness is not the pursuit of an endless succession of experiences but an attitude toward life.

People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.

Enlightenment is the realization that we were never really separate from one another or from all of life.

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

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

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

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

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

The dharma is not about collecting more beliefs but about becoming free from the power of belief itself.

Our basic nature is pure awareness that simply cognizes experience. Everything else is temporary and adventitious.

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.

When you realize the emptiness of all phenomena, compassion will arise in your heart for all sentient beings who do not understand this truth.

Real freedom is not about controlling our experience, but about being free within our experience.

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

The more we understand impermanence, the more we understand that we can't hold on to anything.

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

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.