The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.

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

Don't take life too seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.

In the moment of pure noting, there is no self - only the knowing and the known.

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

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

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

Enlightenment is intimacy with all things.

To think in terms of either pessimism or optimism oversimplifies the truth. The problem is to see reality as it is.

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

Those who understand interdependent origination understand suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

The six realms of existence are like a dream, why build a prison for yourself?

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

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.

Only one book is worth reading: the heart.

We should find perfect existence through imperfect existence.

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

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.

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

Those who grasp at things as truly existent are like someone trying to catch the reflection of the moon in water.

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

When you recognize that pain and suffering are impermanent, you become free.

My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.

Because you are alive, everything is possible.

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

Wisdom is not about accumulating knowledge, but about seeing through all knowledge.

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 root of all suffering is ignorance. The antidote to ignorance is wisdom that realizes emptiness.

The past is for learning from, not for living in.

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 spiritual journey is not about heaven and finally getting to a place that's really swell.

Suffering comes from our resistance to what is. Peace comes from our acceptance of what is.

The instant you speak about a thing, you miss the mark.

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

Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

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

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

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

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.

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

Recognize the emptiness of all phenomena, but do not become attached to emptiness itself.

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

The highest truth cannot be taught except through the conventional truth.

The mind that sees its own nature becomes free from all extremes.

The way we look at the world is the way the world looks.

The practice of vipassana is the study of the self. When you study physical and mental phenomena, you are studying the truth about yourself.

Each moment of clear seeing is a moment of freedom from the illusion of permanence, satisfaction, and self.

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

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

The path is not about moving from one place to another. It's about recognizing where we already are.

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

There is no path to happiness: happiness is the path.

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

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.

Change is possible because there is nothing inherently permanent about our disturbing emotions.

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

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

The teaching of the Buddha is based on two truths: conventional truth and ultimate truth. Without understanding the relationship between these two, the deeper meaning of the Buddha's teaching cannot be understood.

The experience of emptiness engenders compassion.