Suffering is not the end of the story; it is the middle of the story.

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

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

The purpose of Buddhist practice is not to become a Buddhist but to awaken to the nature of reality.

Neither from itself nor from another, nor from both, nor without a cause, does anything whatever, anywhere arise.

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

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

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

Life is available only in the present moment.

The contradiction so puzzling to the ordinary way of thinking comes from the fact that we have to use language to communicate our inner experience, which in its very nature transcends linguistics.

The mind that notes and the object that is noted are both impermanent. Understanding this leads to liberation.

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

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

Without accepting the fact that everything changes, we cannot find perfect composure.

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

The awareness that you are here, right now, is the ultimate fact.

The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here and you are out there.

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

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

The willingness to empty ourselves and then seek our true nature is an expression of great and courageous love.

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

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

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

The Buddha's teaching is not a philosophy or a religion; it is a method of practice.

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

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

There is no difference at all between samsara and nirvana. There is no difference at all between nirvana and samsara.

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

The nature of everything is illusory and ephemeral, those with dualistic perception regard suffering as happiness, like they who lick the honey from a razor's edge.

Your own treasure house contains everything you need; why search outside?

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

The essence of the spiritual journey is the uncovering of what is always already present.

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 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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Ethical conduct is not a constraint upon our freedom but a condition of our freedom.

Every being has the potential of becoming a Buddha. Our true nature is Buddha nature.

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.

True happiness is not found through the multiplication of desires but through their simplification.

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

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

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

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

Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.

The secret of happiness is to want what you already have.

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

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

When one sees with wisdom that all phenomena are empty of inherent existence, one is liberated from suffering.

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

Enlightenment is like the moon reflected on the water. The moon does not get wet, nor is the water broken.

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.

True happiness is not about getting rid of all our problems, but about changing our relationship to them.

If you forget yourself, you become the universe.

Both formerly and now, it is only suffering that I describe, and the cessation of suffering.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.