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

You are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

Enlightenment is not a state of perfection but of authenticity.

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

When you realize how perfect everything is, you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky.

Don't be a bodhisatta; don't be an arahant; don't be anything at all. Being something makes you suffer.

When you walk in the mist, you get wet.

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

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

The purpose of meditation is to gain right understanding of the true nature of mental and physical phenomena.

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

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

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

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 water in the ocean can be rough or calm. It can be clear or murky. But the water itself doesn't mind.

The root of suffering is attachment.

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

The one who grasps at existence suffers in samsara, while the one who grasps at non-existence will find no liberation.

When you are you, Zen is Zen. Big mind is just big mind.

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

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

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

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

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

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

Buddhas and ordinary beings are not two. Enlightenment and delusion are not different paths.

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

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.

The dharma wheel turns from the beginning. There is neither excess nor deficiency. The whole universe is moistened with nectar, and the truth is ready to harvest.

The Four Noble Truths are not mere doctrinal propositions but a framework for understanding and transforming our lives.

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

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

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

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

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

Loving-kindness is not something we need to manufacture. It's a natural expression of our awakened nature.

The nature of mind is the unity of awareness and emptiness.

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

The most important factor in achieving happiness is the mind. Happiness and suffering are mental states and therefore depend on the mind.

Right View is not just a matter of intellectual understanding but of seeing things as they really are.

The path of awakening is not about becoming who we think we should be, but about unbecoming who we are not.

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

The realization of impermanence leads not to despair but to a deeper appreciation of the preciousness of each moment.

Nothing we see or hear is perfect. But right there in the imperfection is perfect reality.

The Buddha's teaching is a teaching of self-reliance, of being one's own master, one's own refuge.

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

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

Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.

The whole moon and the entire sky are reflected in one dewdrop on the grass.

If I had any position, I would thereby have a flaw. But since I have no position, I alone am without flaw.

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

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

Just to be alive is enough.

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

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

What Zen wants us to do is to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature.

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

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

The heart of the path is quite simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are.

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